A Future of Turmoil
by Azu-tan
Summary: Mai's stubbornness didn't allow her to move on. Naru steps back into her life after a few short months only to discover that the brunette may be harbouring a secret - a fact which unsettles him greatly. As they are employed on a case, what ensues would be a tangled web of secrets, lies, curses and ghosts.
1. Dreams & Revelations

A FUTURE OF TURMOIL

**[15.05.2012] **See! I _am_ sticking to my word and re-writing this. If any of you guys, who've already read this story are re-reading this, I give you permission to turn right back and read something else. Why? Because the story will still mainly be the same, albeit changed just a teeny tiny bit.

Please note that I _intentionally_ misspelled some of the twin's dialogue.

Damn…I gotta change the pregnancy details a bit. But that's all. Honest. Hopefully. Ah, who am I kidding? Be prepared for a few changes.

**[30.05.2012]** Okay, some of you may be wondering why this story had been taken down. Your guess is about as good as mine. Apparently, I violated some of the rules/guidelines. But that can't be right because I wrote this story the way I wrote all my other stories. Honestly, this is just cruel. You guys would've told me if I had, right?

**Also, I'm probably asking for a lot here, but please review. I do honestly want to know whether the rewritten pieces are better than the old (for those who've read this before) or tell me how you think I can improve. This'll give me the motivation to pound this story out faster. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ghost Hunt. I only own the plot and any (necessary) OC I come up with. No copyright infringement is intended. This applies to the entirety of the story, since I'll probably forget to mention it again.

OoOoO

**Part 01: Dreams and Revelations**

OoOoO

When Bou-san and Yasu walked into SPR that afternoon, they found Mai immersed in a book as her feet walked towards a wall. Impulsively, Bou-san called out her name to warn her but she was too deep in the thick volume of literature to hear him. So they could only watch as a second passed and the expected "Ouch!" slipped from her mouth. The monk sighed and shook his head as the teen rubbed vigorously at her injured head.

"Oh," she grinned sheepishly, taking in the sight of the man, "I didn't see you guys there."

"We're not the only thing you didn't see," he muttered under his breath. Yasu laughed nervously. Thankfully, she didn't hear him, allowing them both to avoid any sort of contact with the soles of her shoes. With swift precision, Mai hefted the book from the floor and carried it back to her office, formerly owned by their previous boss. Yasu and Bou-san took seat on the couch, both simply deciding to waste the day.

A few minutes later, Mai popped out, yet another book in her hands. She walked to the kitchen and took out a packet of chips from the cupboard before taking seat on the space beside the bored monk. Before settling into her book, she offered the monk some chips, to which he grabbed a handful of. With a hand flicking over a page whilst the other moved to the blue packet, she stopped when Bou-san voiced his question.

"You sure you should eat that, Mai?" he asked. When she turned her eyes to him questioningly, he shrugged. "I just thought you'd want to cut out the junk what with your stomach somewhat…_big_."

He expected the dainty shoe to slap him across the arm. What he _didn't_ expect was the tears that came with it. The teen sat beside him, retracting her shoe and sniffling as she tried to hold back tears. Yasu, being the big help he was, simply snickered at the monk's confusion and panic. When he began to stutter, Yasu lost it and, through hysterics, excused himself temporarily.

"I-I'm sorry, Mai," Bou-san said, grabbing words from his brain. "You're not fat; feel free to stuff yourself some more—"

She released an odd sound and her sobs grew louder. In the kitchen, Yasu's loud burst of laughter was detected by Bou-san and the monk felt the urge, not for the first time, to choke him. At this point, the monk was seriously at an impasse. Why? Why was this happening to him? For crying out loud! He did not need the guilt. Was it because he made his five-year-old cousin pee in his sleep? It was an experiment, dammit! And if anything was the culprit, it was that bowl of warm water!

Was this why, oh powerful gods?

"Mai, you're not fat, alright?"

She sniffed and wiped her tears away with her sleeves. Bou-san watched her warily. Who knows when she'd start crying again! But she seemed fine now; she grabbed a handful of the salty snack and began crunching away on it, turning her slightly red eyes onto the book on her lap. Bou-san blinked and shook his head. Yasu, that traitorous bastard, came back a few minutes later, a glass of water in his hands and a big grin on his face.

All was silent, except for the occasional rustling of the chip bag and crunching of the snack, until Mai decided to break it and ask her own question. After all, there was no reason for them to even be here. Unless they wanted to play tea party, in which case Mai would have to politely decline the offer.

"So," she began, her eyes never leaving the ink-stained pages, "why are you here?"

"It wouldn't kill you to be a little more subtle, would it?" Bou-san grumbled. She clapped a hand on his shoulder; whether it was in reassurance or amusement, Mai wasn't sure. A little of both, maybe.

"Don't take offense. I enjoy your company," she laughed, flicking a page over. "I just thought you'd be trying to help Yasu ask out that crush of his."

Needless to say, the man beside her grew baffled. Yasu, on the other hand, simply laughed.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Well, you're not exactly the most subtle guy on Earth," she shrugged, holding in another burst of laughs. "And especially not when you're trying to express your emotions—" She shook her head in amusement, coughing slightly. "Excuse me, I made an error. Especially not when you're trying to _force_ your emotions onto her."

"What do you mean, _'forced'_?"

"Exactly that."

"I don't _force_ my feelings onto her," he denied.

"If by "Saya, we're going to the movies" isn't you forcing yourself onto her, then I don't know what is." Mai paused for a few seconds. "That…came out a bit wrong."

Bou-san simple snorted at the look on Yasu's face. Mai shook her head and continued. "Oh, and keep in mind that you've only met her about three months ago and that was the first thing you ever said to her."

"It wasn't forced," he denied again. "I was just asking her to go with me."

"And yet there is no question mark at the end of that sentence."

"There could be," he pointed out.

"But there isn't."

Out of counters, he dropped his head onto the arm of the couch and stayed that way for a few silent minutes. Then, as a thought processed in his head, he shot up, startling Mai and almost causing her to drop her snack. She put the packet onto the coffee table and shook her head in disapproval.

"A little warning next time, Yasu," she muttered lowly. "That's all I ask."

Bou-san grabbed another handful, watching the scene. The day had turned out more interesting than he'd originally thought. Not that a day with Mai was boring. They could always count on her to rack up something ridiculous—or, in this case, the truth.

"I've got a way to ask her out without her rejecting me," he explained as he made his way to the door.

"Does it have a question mark at the end of it?" Mai asked flatly. The answer was one she already predicted and, full of sympathy for her friend, she couldn't allow him to go through the humiliation of being rejected. Again.

"Nope," he said cheerily.

"Then sit down."

He heaved a sigh and obeyed.

"So you like her?" she asked.

He nodded yes. She took her eyes off her book long enough to judge his expression. Then she let her eyes fall back down to the pages. "You seem calm."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Nope. At least you've maintained you're personality."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he smiled. Mai clicked her tongue and lifted her shoulders in a shrug. Scowling, she closed the book shut and stood up, making her way back to her office to find a better read. Hopefully, something that didn't contradict itself. She turned her head in Yasu's general direction and scoffed lightly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Not a minute later, a loud clatter of glass and clay had both men sprinting for the office. They found her hunched over a bin and retching. After she contributed last night's dinner to the metal tin, she leaned against the desk, panting and wiping away sweat.

"Mai," Bou-san began, clearly alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully, taking in a deep breath. She didn't know the answer to his question. She could only speculate on the matter. "Food poisoning? I'll be fine after some sleep."

Bou-san seemed unconvinced but nodded nonetheless.

Mai looked around the room in woe; she'd just finished cleaning the place and now there were remnants of shattered glasses and vases. Oh, her poor heart. She didn't think she could take any more dirt. She stopped for a moment. When had she become such a clean freak? She shook her head and released a sigh before tying up the bag covering the bin and walking outside to dispose of it.

Walking back, she lifted her hand to her mouth, covering a yawn. She felt utterly exhausted and she didn't know why. Sure, she'd slept a little later than usual for the past few weeks, but it was only by an hour or so. But she couldn't sleep yet. She had an office to clean.

However, when she entered said room, she found it well on its way in being cleaned. Bou-san and Yasu were certainly working overtime. Too bad she didn't feel like paying them for the help. She was a horrible boss. When Bou-san came back with a bag and dust pan, she held her hands out.

"Here, let me."

The monk merely shook his head and shooed her away to the couch, throwing the excuse of "Those dark bags under your eyes aren't gonna disappear on their own, you know" at her. To which she replied with a mock slap and "Stop teasing me, sheesh!" However, she complied with his order and moved to lie down on the couch. Almost instantaneously, she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes, the undeniable feeling of safety enveloping her.

**OoOoO**

She found herself surrounded by a field of bright flowers. She beamed; it had been a while since she'd had a sleep that was this peaceful. She stood up, brushed the dirt off her rear end and began roaming around and picking flowers that caught her interest. When she finished, she realized she'd picked more than she'd originally thought she had.

Briefly, she wondered why she was so aware of her existence and behaviour in this particular dream but couldn't come up with an answer—although, she did note the familiar sensation of this dream. It was like…like one of _those_ dreams. Those dreams of revelations. But, as she looked to her left and right, there was no Gene. Besides, there wasn't a case she needed help with either. It didn't make any sense at all, but Mai decided to leave it. It was nice, despite the confusion it spiraled within her.

Sensing some other's presence near her, she froze. When she felt small hands tugging at her shirt from behind, she turned slowly and was met with two pairs of sea-blue eyes which twinkled amusedly. With a mischievous grin on his face, the boy took away his hand from her clothing and smoothed his dark hair. The other, with the same obsidian hair framing his youthful face, simply looked at her, as if waiting for her to speak. Twins, clearly.

"Hi," she said, crouching down to their height. One of the twins giggled and playfully nudged his brother. The impassive one of the two puffed out his cheeks and scowled at the brunet's action. "What're your names?"

"Shuri!" the enthusiastic of the two responded cheerfully. The other only tilted his head in wonder and seemed to be more wary of her. Mai observed him carefully; he wasn't open, unable to be read. His deadpanned expression brought on a sense of familiarity and she found herself frowning slightly.

"Yuzuki," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed at the staring he was receiving from the brunette.

"Nice names," she said thoughtfully. "Who are you? Where's your mummy and daddy?"

"Shecret~!" Shuri grinned, tugging at her hands. "Come on!"

"Where are we going?" Mai asked, allowing herself to be dragged along. They were moving through the field and soon, like a sudden scene change, Mai found herself walking towards a room. Yuzuki followed, taking a careful grip of her white shirt.

"To play," Shuri said. "Let's play! Let's play!"

To Mai, it seemed as if though they were twins, they were complete opposites in personalities. Shuri seemed to be more outgoing and welcoming towards strangers whilst Yuzuki was introverted, shy and cautious.

They exited into a white paneled room; its marble walls lined with shelves filled with books and toys. There was also a chest of toys against a wall, two chairs and two single beds. Shuri dragged Mai over and Yuzuki let go of his grip on her to follow beside his brother. They crouched to their knees, digging through the chest. From amongst the toys, both boys pulled out a book.

Shuri grimaced at Mai, book in hand. "No time," Shuri said, fumbling slightly with his words. "Read inshtead?"

Picking the book from his arms she looked at it. A goat was on the front cover of the book. "Okay."

Both moved into bed, pulling the sheets up to their noses. Shuri giggled excitedly, whilst Yuzuki cracked a grin.

Mai dragged the chair over to the space between their beds and sat. Opening the book to the first page, she cleared her throat. "In a time of fun and happiness, a small goat found a daisy. The daisy was bright in colour, shining with the sun's light. When the rain came, the goat worried that the daisy would disappear, but when the sun came again, the daisy was still there." The two children had moved towards Mai, holding onto her shirt sleepily. "The small goat decided that the daisy would be his friend. The goat knew that even though time would pass, the daisy would always be his friend."

As soon as the last word had left her mouth, Mai was clapped back into her world, the faces of Bou-san and Yasu staring down at her. Concernedly, if Mai had to explain it.

"Did you see something bad?" Bou-san asked carefully. He still remembered her reaction at being implied as fat. "You were smiling though, but then you began to cry."

"I'm fine," Mai said, wiping the tears away. "No bad dreams, no foreshadowing of a danger yet to come. Just…"

"Just?"

She shook her head, a smile on her face. "Don't mind it." She grinned. "So. You two wanna go out and do something?"

"Like what?" Bou-san asked as his eyes narrowed in suspicion. She swatted his arm as her face turned impassive.

"Give me a chance, sheesh!"

"Oh, so like when you brought John to the farm on your summer holidays and made him work for _your_ pay. Or like when you wanted to go swimming only to get Ayako and I tangled up in a net."

"I was only trying to help," she muttered and rolled her eyes.

"That _help_ caused us to contract a case of hypothermia."

"And I already said sorry."

"So," Yasu said, "what exactly did you have in mind?"

Her grin widened and her eyes twinkled. The monk sighed and waited for the dreaded words to leave her mouth.

"Case-hunting."

All was silent until Bou-san coughed. "What?"

"I'm opening SPR again and I want to kill this boredom that's surrounding me like a plague."

Bou-san flopped down onto the couch, staring at her grimly. "Sorta early, don't you think?"

"No. I need the money."

"Then get a job."

"I've got it," she insisted. "And I like it very much even though they do give me the creeps occasionally."

"Mai," Bou-san said resignedly. "I'm sure the customers will come to you. There's no need to rush."

"My rent says otherwise."

"I'll give you the money," he said, quite happy to offer. Mai, however, shook her head stubbornly and declined.

"No thanks! You're already paying for SPR's rent."

"Tsk"-ing at the rejection, the monk muttered, "You'll never become rich by turning down offers of money, Mai."

Said teen shrugged and made her way to the door. When she sensed the lack of presences following behind her, she turned and motioned for the two to hurry. When inquired of going where, she answered, "To the amusement park. I hear they've brought in a new ride. It's got more action than roller coasters!"

Bou-san, not a fan of roller coasters and certainly not a fan of whatever new ride that would be, was suddenly filled with immense regret.

"I should've agreed to the case-hunt."

**OoOoO**

When she went to sleep that night, she couldn't help but wonder whether she'd see the twins again. And as she slipped into the darkness, she found the answer. She found herself lying in the same field of flowers once again. This time, there were two new additions. Both boys were chasing each other and when they saw her, they made their way towards her.

"Shu-chan!" she said, experimenting nicknames. "Yu-chan!"

"Onee-taaan!" Shuri bubbled enthusiastically. "Ya back!"

"Yep. How are you two?"

"Good." Though Yuzuki was beginning to warm up to her, he was still the quieter of the two. He simply nodded in answer to her question whilst gripping the hem of his shirt tightly with his small hands.

"Let's play?" he suggested quietly. The scene changed again and Mai wondered why. They went into their bedroom again and waddled through the chest. All they asked of Mai was to play with them, and though Mai agreed to it wholeheartedly, there was something about it that was so sad she felt her heart clench every time the "Let's play" phrase came out of their mouths.

Unfortunately, Mai's foot caught on the chair as she took a step forward and she found herself falling. Shuri shouted. Yuzuki looked mildly alarmed. Suddenly, she found herself being levitated, if only a little. Her foot found stable ground and she took the opportunity to steady herself.

She saw the strain in Yuzuki's small body ease as soon as she felt the power around her fade. This was a dream—there's no way someone could _levitate_ something in real life. On another note, she had, in her life, dealt with more ghosts, angry spirits and poltergeists than any normal teen had…excluding Naru, of course.

Shuri dragged her over to his bed and Mai was forced to sit as she faced the angry stares of two kids less than half her age. "Dummy!" Shuri shouted at her, and Mai felt an odd urge to cry as soon as she saw the tears well up in both boys' eyes. Yuzuki, surprisingly, rubbed her stomach carefully. "Doctor!"

"No, it's alright. I don't need a doctor," she said, trying to calm them—Shuri, the most. Yuzuki just continued to pat her flat stomach. "What are you doing, Yu-chan?" He turned his serious eyes on her, no more happy glints in his eyes. Just a somber gaze. And a strangely familiar one at that, too.

"Doctor."

"No—"

"Wake up," he frowned, searching for the right words. "Doctor."

She frowned. "Wake up?" They were aware that this was a dream? Wait—_she_ was aware that this was a dream? Oddly, it didn't _feel_ like a dream…but she couldn't place a finger on what exactly. It felt like…like one of _those_ dreams. Those dreams filled with revelations. But Gene often accompanied her.

"Bye-bye," both mumbled, rather worriedly.

She left the second later, though somewhat reluctant as she still wanted answers.

Still, that morning, she decided to take the twin's advice as she was planning on going to the doctors anyways to ask what her throwing-up meant, amongst over things, but never found the time to do so. She was unable to quench the nervousness and anxiety as she waited for her name to be called, watching her clenched hands.

"Taniyama-san?" the white-coated doctor called, looking at a clipboard. Mai stood up and followed after the doctor, taking in deep breaths. She'd never like going to the doctors; they always seemed to give bad news to their patients, whether it be explaining a soon-to-happen death to the patient's family members or that the patient needed surgery and in order to execute the performance, money, usually tens of thousands, had to be paid.

He closed the door, and nodded her to a chair. She took her seat whilst he sat his chair, directly in front of the computer.

"So," he said, interlocking his fingers together. "What brings you here today?"

Saying that some kids in her dream told her to do it already sounded quite insane to her ears so it probably wasn't the best idea to say that to someone else. She went with her other excuse. "Well, for the past few weeks, I've been feeling nauseous and have been throwing up either in the early morning or the late night. Sometimes during the afternoon. And my breasts have been feeling tender…somewhat swollen."

She only hoped it wasn't, for example, breast cancer. She wouldn't be able to cope with that kind of news. Specifically speaking, she was a _little_ afraid of surgeries—haha—and couldn't bear it if she _really_ had to have a scalpel slicing her up; which was pretty ironic since she got injured on a daily basis…well, she did in the past and she soon would again.

"Hm…" The doctor nodded, taking in necessary information. "Go on."

"I've been pretty moody lately, sometimes snapping at my friends only to then apologize profusely. Once, I even cried when I spilt coffee on my shirt. And I _hated_ that shirt."

"I see…" He drummed his fingers on his desk. "What about your menstruation cycle? Has it been normal?"

"I haven't had it for a while…but my cycle is pretty irregular and barely on time so…"

The doctor nodded.

"Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

"Huh?"

"Well, as a precaution. Have you?"

"Well, no… Do you think I'm _pregnant_?" she asked, frowning. Precaution? Really? Pregnancy? No, it was impossible. Right?

"The things you described are telling me that you are experiencing some symptoms of pregnancy."

So that's why they asked her whether she wanted to pee or take a blood test.

Oh.

Crap.

"Is there a chance I'm not pregnant?" she asked, almost frantically. His eyes looked down at the papers and then looked at her.

"Results show that you're about two months pregnant."

No, no, no, no.

_No._

She was speechless. Not the good kind of speechless where one's boyfriend surprises them with a date to the beach or something. It was the kind of speechless where nothing truly made sense and her head felt like it was going to explode what with all the new information—and ungodly stress—pulsing through her brain in such short time.

"I want you to take an ultrasound and receive a sonogram at this place"—he handed her a card with a number scribbled on it—"so make an appointment as soon as you can so that we can confirm a heartbeat. It's important that both mother and child are both healthy. You might need another one at around twenty weeks but we'll discuss whether it's necessary or not later."

All she could do was nod dumbly. Why now? And with _whom_? She never had any boyfriends before. Boys just never seemed interested in her and she'd been too busy trying to make ends meet that she'd never truly cared; Naru was an exception, for some reason, but she hadn't pursued a relationship with him either. It was pretty obvious that she'd never kissed, never—

Wait, no. She had kissed. Hazy memories cleared a path for her to see and all Mai could comment on the matter was how convenient her brain worked in adrenaline-filled situations. So she had kissed—but kisses don't lead to pregnancy. Another memory cleared.

Tangled sheets. Waking up sore and, conveniently enough, alone. At that time, everything had been too blurry to remember. She barely remembered getting back to her apartment. But everything was now stunningly clear. As if someone had taken a cloth and wiped the blur away. But she remembered a scent lingering on her body. A scent she didn't easily forget.

Naru's.

It had been during that party that Bou-san threw. The farewell party for Naru, Lin, Madoka and Haru. And _stupid_ Bou-san had gotten Naru drunk. She, somewhat at fault, had been depressed by the news and so had taken comfort in alcohol. Which meant that the role of the father belonged to…Naru.

Kazuya Shibuya, also known as, Naru.

_Crap._

She was scared. She had no parents to help her. Madoka was now the mother of a three-year-old, but she could hardly ask the woman. Madoka was in England, having gone with Lin and Naru.

"No…" she whispered. "I can't…" The tears came, followed by a soft sob. The doctor patted her shoulder.

"But, you know," he tried to calm her. Unsuccessfully. "There's life growing in you."

Her sob deepened, leaving the doctor to do nothing more than pat her shoulder and wait for her to get it all out of her system.


	2. Curses & Introverts

**Lyfa —** The names I gave the twins was something done after an hour of searching for fitting names. I didn't get any and so I read some manga instead. I pulled both their names from two different manga and called it done. Haha. And yeah, the OOC-ness in this story sort of kills me a bit but I can never catch their characters completely. Sucks but gotta work with whatever I can.

**Vivian101 —** Ah, you reviewed again! Haha, thanks for supporting.

**hi — **Thank-you for reviewing. I went to check up on whether I had a disclaimer or not on the original work and it turns out that I did put a disclaimer on every single chapter. Weird, huh? I guess FF is going on a deleting spree, after all. Either that or people hate this fic _a lot_. Haha.

Let's hope this doesn't get deleted again.

**xSapphirexRosesxFanx —** Nice to see you again too. Thanks for supporting me once more.

**Moons-Chan —** And thank-you too for supporting me again.

**Katella —** Haha, I sort of have an image of the twins. It's not much, but the display-picture on my profile was my inspiration on the twins. I just simply pictured them with dark hair instead of blonde and darker eyes than the blue.

OoOoO

**Part 02: Curses and Introverts **

OoOoO

"Mai?" Bou-san called, peering into the office. Mai was nervously fiddling with her fingers and drinking more glasses of water Bou-san had ever seen her drink. Oh. Nope. One of the many cups was filled with tea. "Are you ready?" Whatever was wrong with her would have to be investigated once the client had gone home.

"Is she here already?" she sputtered, looking positively lost. He blinked. Had she forgotten the time?

"Uh, yeah." He frowned. "Look, if you're not ready, Ayako and I can handle—"

"No, I can do it." She took in a deep breath. "I can do it." It sounded like the last sentence was to convince herself rather than the monk who was sending her odd looks. Following her out, Bou-san silently sighed, worried. His new boss was more accident-prone than his old one after all. She always had been.

"Hello," Mai said, shaking hands and sitting on the couch opposite the woman. "I'm Mai Taniyama. Over here is Ayako Matsuzaki and Hosho Takigawa."

"Nice to meet you all," she said, smiling rather nervously. "I'm Yui Kagami."

"Tell us about your problem." Mai suddenly felt as if she were a psychiatrist questioning a patient. She kept the scowl down; she'd never liked psychiatrists. Maybe it had something to do with the way they tried to soothe everything by talking to their patients in a voice that was spoken to elementary school kids—heck, even the kids probably hated it. _No_, she disagreed. Not all psychiatrists were terrible. Only that one lady with the big, creepy smile. How she got her qualification, Mai _did not_ want to know.

"Well, it's been going on for a long time now, no one is sure of exactly how long." She took the glass of water from Ayako, sending a curt nod of her head as a thank-you. "In my husband's family, the males have all died young. It seems to be a…curse. No-one knows who placed the curse on them or why. The lucky ones might live past their infant years. I'm worried for my husband and my five-year-old son. Frighteningly, we've hired psychics and mediums before but all males who were participating died."

So this ghost-curse thing wasn't specific in their killings.

"Although, they did die different ways from our curse, like being risen from the ground and then strangled by something invisible. Or falling from the second floor of the house and breaking their neck."

Correction: Ghost-curse thing hated males in general and were very gruesome in their annihilation of enemies.

"What would you like us to do?" Mai asked.

"Exterminate whatever paranormal thing it is."

Mai clicked her tongue. "Okay."

Bou-san jerked his head over to look at her. He and Ayako wore the same shell-shocked expression on their faces. They knew she was hot-headed, stubborn and rash in her decisions, but whatever happened to 'hesitation'?

"Thanks for doing business with us," Mai said, ignoring the other two, grim-faced members. "Please prepare a few rooms for us, including a base where we can do our work. We should be there by the day after tomorrow, if all goes well."

"Thank-you."

Yui left not a minute later but not before scribbling a note with her address and phone number. As soon as the door slammed behind her, Ayako and Bou-san questioned her on the safety of the case and the risks they'd be taking. But they were also mostly questioning the existence of her brain—about whether or not it actually processed "thoughts" and "danger".

"Do you ever _think_?" Ayako demanded.

"With Naru, I understand. He's naturally unpredictable. But you too?" Bou-san sighed. "The case is dangerous; it deserves a little more than five seconds of thoughts."

"Yes, it's dangerous," Mai agreed grimly. "But, to be honest, I'm interested in this case."

"Uh huh. Interested enough to get killed?"

"Can't you just be supportive?" she huffed. "Why are you—?" Mai saw it play out in a somewhat chronological order. Her stomach lurched; she sensed what was soon to come and, slapping a hand to her mouth, she ran for the bathroom. The two adults looked at one another and cautiously followed after the teen. What was _that_ all about?

"Uh…Mai?" Ayako asked, speaking through a locked door.

"I'm"—she paused to vomit—"fine."

"Yeah, and I'm conversing with a dog." The words practically overflowed with sarcasm. "Look, kid. If you don't come out this second, I'll bust in," Bou-san said warningly. Mai growled as she turned her face back to the toilet again. Oh, she _really_ didn't feel like arguing.

"And what good would that do? I'm peeing, go away!"

"You are _not_ peeing, you dolt."

"Fine, _genius_!" Mai hissed, feeling her energy begin to dissipate. "I'm crapping. Happy?"

"Don't take that tone with me—"

Ayako took over, pushing Bou-san out of the way, much to his displeasure and protests. "Mai? Are you alright?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I'm fine. Absolutely, perfectly, a hundred percent fine."

"Well, ok. Since you say so," she muttered, unconvinced. "Bou-san and I will wait for you out in the living room."

"Sounds good!" Another round overtook her and she turned her attention back to the smelly object she'd emptied her contents into. Once she was finished, she flushed said toilet many times, jerked open the windows and sprayed half the can of bathroom freshener around her and the restroom. Staggering out of the bathroom, Mai went to sit on the couch, slapping Bou-san's leg out of the way. They both stared at her, expecting an answer. She was saved by the opening of the door. John and Masako.

"Yasu's still in college," John explained. She nodded. Masako raised her eyebrows at the intense look Bou-san and Ayako continued to give the brunette.

"Anybody wants tea?" Mai asked, laughing awkwardly and getting up.

"Mai, you don't have to do that anymore," Bou-san said.

"Well, I suppose I don't, but it's developed into a habit now, I suppose." She laughed. "Bou-san, Ayako; in the meantime, you can inform the others on the new case."

"Got it."

Instead of telling them the details of the case, they expressed their worries of Mai. Every now and then, a glance would be directed towards the kitchen. "Wait, so you're saying Mai's sick?" John asked. Masako also expressed her doubt.

"Doubtful. Mai doesn't seem to be ill." From the kitchen, Mai's humming could be heard. This only brought more doubt upon Bou-san's claim.

"Not just 'sick'," Bou-san sighed in exasperation. "I think she's seriously sick, like maybe a disease or something."

"What?" Ayako snapped, giving him a _what-the-hell_ look. "A disease? What is wrong with you? Are you _trying_ to curse her?"

"No, that would be the case," he said, seeing fit to defend himself "Besides, you saw how she sprinted for the bathroom. She definitely wasn't peeing."

"She said she was taking a dump," she sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You believe that?"

John muttered something about diarrhoea being a probable cause. The monk ignored his comment. It wasn't diarrhoea. His sixth sense was telling him it was something else entirely. Then again, he'd never fully developed his sixth sense so maybe—

No.

If there was something he was positive of, it was that Mai was hiding something from them.

"If she wants to tell us, she'll tell us," Ayako sighed. "We shouldn't force it out of her. I'm sure she has a lot on her plate right now, what with the case she so readily accepted."

"It's rare of you to sound so mature," Bou-san smirked. "Mature with a hint of sarcasm. Nice." Ayako hid the blush threatening to surface. "Good to know some of my brain cells got to you." She lifted her bag menacingly. She found that one way to make her embarrassments vanish was through threats and sometimes violence.

"I give! I give!" he laughed, holding his arms out in defence. She shot him another death glare before dropping her bag onto the space between them.

"So…the case?" John asked, curious.

"Oh, you guys are free in two days, right?" Bou-san asked.

"Yes," John said.

"I'm free." Masako put away the small diary which held all her timetables and well-planned schedule.

"Good." Bou-san gave them a serious look as he explained the situation of the case to them. Both listened intently.

"So," he finished. "The ones in danger would mostly be us males, John."

"Too late to back out now, yes?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Sorry, kid, but you're sticking with me."

"What about Yasu?" Ayako inputted.

"Kid is gonna be in college most of the time. John and I haven't got that excuse."

"Got the tea!" Mai called, coming into view. Ayako thwacked Bou-san's knee before he could ask Mai on his theory of her supposed illness. He frowned at her, but proceeded to finish what he wanted to say.

"Mai."

She turned to look at him, after having put the tray of tea down on the coffee table in front of them. "Hm?"

"Well, I don't know how to put this…" The other three were, in other words, shocked that he'd express his concern over something she didn't appear to be suffering from. Ayako stood up quickly, startling the girl in question, and grabbed Bou-san's arm, ignoring the tingling feeling that flared from their contact. God, she was acting like a teenager.

"Sorry, Mai. I need to tell Bou-san something." Mai, John and Masako noticed that she didn't leave her handbag with them. Bou-san seemed to comprehend that information too and swallowed thickly. "I'm going to use your office, too."

Mai only nodded.

Ayako dragged him over to the room and slammed the door shut. As soon as the solemn bang of the door resounded through the room, she turned on him, a sharp glare on her face. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" he asked, feigning innocence. Maybe there was a chance he'd come out of this alive. One look at Ayako's face told him that that chance was pretty small.

"I thought we agreed not to push her!"

Bou-san slapped a hand to her mouth. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "She's gonna hear us!"

She slapped his hand away, threatening him with the purse. He backed off, eyeing it warily. "I didn't think you cared," Ayako growled. "I thought you _wanted_ to tell her!"

"Why are you so angry about this? You want to know as much as I do."

"That may be true," she said through clenched teeth. "But I also respect my friend's privacy. Forgive me for not being more like you."

"Okay, okay, chill. I won't ask her."

She breathed a sigh. "Good." She paused. "Look, I just feel as if whatever is going on with her is something big. Really big. My female senses tell me so. So just, don't charge into it."

"Okay."

She stopped—a hand on the door knob. "You're not going to leave it alone, are you?"

"Heh, you know me well."

And then she began the terrible beat-up Bou-san had coming for him. He should know better than to get a female _with_ a purse mad. The man had a lot to learn. _A lot_.

"Where's Bou-san?" Mai asked when Ayako came out of the room alone. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine." Ayako positively beamed. "He just needs a little _alone time_, if you catch my drift."

"O-Oh."

With a shake of the head, Mai turned and brought the tray back to the kitchen, also taking Bou-san's cup of tea. He wouldn't be out for a while, anyways. It would simply be a _crime_ to let the drink grow cold.

**OoOoO**

"Hey, Shu-chan! Yu-chan!" Mai beamed. "How are you today?"

"Good!" Shuri said, clapping his hands together cheerily.

"Bawrd," Yuzuki mumbled, fumbling with the hem of his shirt. Mai hid a laugh. They were opposites. One was feeling great, the other suffering from boredom. Not to mention, they were both so adorable she could just _smother_ them in love.

"Hey, guess what?" Mai began, unable to discern the tone in her voice. Sad or happy. A mixture of both, perhaps? "I'm pregnant—I'm gonna have a baby."

There was that look on the twin's face that said, loud and clear, that they knew. Still, there was something in their expression, though hidden, that told her she was missing something. Something vitally important. But whether they did or not remained a secret, as did many other things she wondered about concerning the two.

"Ohh," Shuri said, drawling the word out. "Yay!"

"Hm…"

Shuri stopped. Yuzuki frowned.

"Hate…baby?" Shuri asked. A look of hurt splashed across his face. Her heart constricted at the sight. Yuzuki casted his eyes onto the ground, the shaking of his tiny frame gave his tears away. Mai pulled them into a large hug. It was made purely on instincts but it just seemed…_right_. Drying their tears, she shook her head.

"No, no. I don't hate the baby…I'm just don't think I'm ready to be a mother yet. It's scary."

"Scary?" Shuri sniffled, a small yet chubby hand rubbing his nose.

"Yes." In a quieter voice, she muttered to herself, "The granny living near my apartment complex did always say it felt like pushing a watermelon through her nose."

She shivered at the memory. Let's just say she'd been nine and, after hearing a story like that, she vowed to never have children even though she loved the little angels to miniscule bits. The old woman had laughed at her and now she knew why. The pledge was too ridiculous, especially considering the situation she was now in.

"Worsha…melon?" Shuri ask, confused. Yuzuki gave her a cute, incredulous look, murmuring, "Nose?"

Honestly, they didn't know the effect they had on her.

"Uh, haha… Never mind."

Yuzuki simply gazed at her with his dark eyes blue eyes. Eventually, he looked down, face unreadable, as he slipped a small hand through hers and, together with Shuri, walked beside her to their room.

"Hey…" Mai started thoughtfully. "Are you two ever going to tell me who you are?"

Shuri giggled and both siblings held hands as they skipped—well, Yuzuki walked, somehow managing to keep up with his brother—out onto the white carpet. "Shecret~!" Shuri giggled. Mai sighed. Same answer as always, huh?

"What are your last names then?"

"Shecret!" Shuri repeated, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Mai watched this in amusement; not a minute ago, the boy was overly enthusiastic and now he was tired. "Story! Story!"

"Ok." Mai helped them into bed and tucked them in, planting a slight kiss on their forehead. A simple gesture she was far used to; she'd been treated the same way when she was little. "This time I'll tell you about the two brothers who found themselves on a pirate ship."

"Ship?" Yuzuki exclaimed, his eyes lighting in amusement. Mai nodded, smiling.

"That's right. Ship."

Maybe having children wasn't too bad after all.

Almost a blessing, no?

After Shuri fell asleep, Mai waited patiently for Yuzuki to follow his brother's example. Instead, she found him staring at her again and decided to question it. He looked mildly embarrassed at being caught as he averted his eyes onto the ceiling.

"What is it?"

"Leaving again?" he asked quietly.

"Of course, but I'll visit you and Shu-chan soon enough."

"Don't mean that."

"You don't mean it like that?" She frowned. "What do you mean then?"

"Nothing."  
"Hey…" Mai began after a short while, gently poking Yuzuki to call for his attention. He shifted onto his side and sent her a quizzical look. She frowned slightly; it reminded her of something… "Uh." Suddenly, she felt quite idiotic for trying to ask a question to an apparition in her dream, but she pressed on nonetheless. "Do you have a mum? A dad?"

He frowned, as if in the process of deciding whether to tell her or not. Slowly, he began to nod. "Where are they?"

His frown deepened. "Papa…somewhere. Mama ish gone."

"Gone?"

"Onee-tan…"

"Hm?"

"God ish mean." He suddenly looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly. "Bye-bye." He climbed off the bed and onto her lap with the help of the perplexed teen.

"What is it, Yu-chan?" she asked. Her arms were secured around the boy to stop him from falling as he looked at her. Slowly, in a way that was almost _fearful_, Yuzuki wrapped his small arms around her neck; his head snuggled against the crook of her neck. His small frame was terribly tensed.

Mai patted his back, hoping to console him off his troubles and stop up, child in arms. She bent down to tuck him back into bed and laid a hand on his dark hair, smoothing it gently. The boy shyly grasped her hand and, when he understood that Mai wasn't rejecting his gesture, closed his eyes, a small, satisfied smile on his young face.

**OoOoO **

**I must remind you that I did intentionally write the twin's dialogue in a way that is incorrect in grammar (perhaps) and spelling. **

**Well, you can thank my biology assignment because if it wasn't for it, this update wouldn't have happened so soon. Yes, I know it's been a while and you probably think I should've updated at school. Not possible. The school has, since before I attended, blocked FF . net. Reason: Kids time wasting. How depressing. Haha… **

**Anyways, this chapter has been cut down a bit, compared to the older version of this story, meaning possibly more chapters and, if lucky, longer chapters (though, don't count on it). I've made it so that this chapter focuses on the beginning relationship with Mai and the twins—and yes, I know it was short. Regardless, I hope I did an alright job. **

**Please review and express your opinion(s) — no flames. **

**-Azure E. **


	3. Reassurances & Surprises

OoOoO

**Part 03: Reassurances and Surprises**

OoOoO

Mai waited impatiently by the SPR door, her foot tapping faster by every second she had to wait. Her grip on the strap of her bag tightened as her mouth thinned into one of displeasure. They were about six minutes behind schedule. That was it! If they weren't out in one more minute, she was leaving them—"team" be _damned_!

She did a double take. Oh, cheese, crackers and vomit! Did she really just think that? Had she really processed a thought that _Naru_ usually had? Well, it looked like time with Naru was beginning to rub off on her. Now, if she could just have that brain of his as well—

The horn beeped.

"Mai!"

She whipped her head towards the vehicle. Bou-san and the others were already seated in the van, clearly waiting for her. She looked down at the floor. If they had planned on making her feel like a complete idiot, they'd be pleased to know that she felt like one. After locking up the place, she made her way towards the van, carefully moving in and sliding the door shut after her.

"When did you get in here?" she blurted as Bou-san began pulling out of the driveway. Ayako shot her an amused look.

"When you were in the toilet."

A sudden, sharp pain flurried in her mind and she began to see splotches of black appear in her vision. _Not good_, she thought, wincing as a new, sharper blow struck her, rendering her incapable of speech and took her from her world. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in complete and utter darkness. Not a ray of light could be seen.

She began to grow a little hysterical when nothing changed in the next few minutes. The fear bubbling in her stomach was growing. It was short-lived. For at the second, two small forms practically tackled her, their small hands grabbing tightly at her shirt. The twins were pulling at her clothes and crying.

"Don't!" Shuri cried loudly. Mai was, to say the least, alarmed. Why were they crying? What was happening? What also surprised her was that Yuzuki was crying too. He made little noise but it was clear that he, too, was distressed—which was a new side to him since he seemed to be the most composed of the twins. What in the name of all things was happening? "Don't go!"

"What are you talking about, Shu-chan?"

"Don't go!"

"Don't go where?" she enquired, crouching down to their height to meet their eyes. She placed her hands on their shoulders. "What are you two talking about?" _And how did I go to sleep?_ She refrained from expressing her curiosity through that mental question. They were very upset at the moment. Her first priority should be to calm them.

"Don't go," Shuri hiccupped. "Itsh bad! Very bad."

"Evil," Yuzuki inputted.

"Evil…?" Mai murmured. Then it clicked. "Ah, are you two talking about the case?"

"Evil," Shuri repeated his brother's words. "Dark…and evil!"

"You'll…die," Yuzuki whispered, distraught. "And then you'll be gone."

Mai bit her lower lip before speaking. "Don't worry, you two. I won't disappear, okay?"

"Promise?" Shuri asked.

She nodded. "I promise." She held her hands out to them, letting them hold onto it as she led them, for the first time, to their room.

"Come on, you two. Let's play."

**OoOoO**

"Mai!" Ayako called as they all made their way to the Kagami's front door. Mai sighed for the umpteenth time. She'd spent the entirety of the two hour ride, _trying_ to tell them that, _no_, nothing was wrong with her and that she was just _fine_. Of course, they didn't believe her. Which really irked the hell out of her.

"Ayako," Mai began in a low voice. It rang with a tone that left no room for arguments. "We're on a job. As striving professionals, it's best to keep personal matters from interfering with our task. That ambulance and police vehicle parked right outside must mean something is wrong."

"We're just worried, Mai."

"I know. And I appreciate that, guys. But, honestly, I'm feeling good enough to kick your ass." She allowed a grin to appear before turning back around and continuing to head up to the door. Curse the idiot who built the house on such a high hill.

"Yeah, she's fine if she's gonna go that far," Bou-san muttered. "Don't worry so much, Ayako." A heartbeat later, he added, "You wrinkles are gonna multiply tenfold. Haha! Think of the horror!"

"You sonovabi—"

Fortunately, she never got to finish her sentence because at that moment the door opened and an exhausted Yui greeted them. "I heard you," she explained. "I… You came at the right time."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Mai focused on the woman in front of them. It didn't seem as if she had enough energy to even fake a smile. She looked drained, exhausted and frightened. "I apologize for the impolite greeting. It's just that…my husband's father, my father-in-law, has just passed away."

That would explain the vehicles in front of the house.

"Passed away…" Mai clenched her hands into tight fists. "You mean…"

Yui nodded. "Yes. The curse… The curse got to him." Mai bit her lip. John sucked in a breath. Ayako frowned; Masako remained impassive, though her eyes expressed slight worry. Bou-san looked away. Mai wanted to _throttle_ something, which was hardly appropriate. Was the death meant to be a warning to them? To tell them to leave it all alone else they too would either die or witness more murders?

"Forgive my rudeness, but in which part of the house did he pass away in?" Mai asked. She wouldn't give whatever it was the pleasure of seeing them frightened away. No. Because Mai hated to lose. Yui took out a handkerchief before blowing into it.

"The living room," she gulped.

"Is he still here?"

Yui's breathing hitched. Without a word, she gestured them in. Yui led them to a room; outside the room, two members of the police force were situated outside as they waited patiently. They entered the room; family members were gathered around a figure lying under a white blanket. An elderly woman beside the immobile person cried silently, as if trying to maintain a sense of strength. Young men and women around the age of between thirty and twenty expressed their grief through loud sobs.

Yui left their company to hug a child with brown hair and tearful eyes, but not before informing them on the location of their base and apologizing for not maintaining customary respect by not showing them the way. Noting his family's sorrows, Mai deducted that the man must've been a great person. Their tears seemed so genuine that Mai wanted to cry herself.

"Masako, stay with them and try to find out how he died," Mai ordered. Masako nodded and, hoping to respect them, sat in the farthest corner of the room. "Bou-san, John, Ayako…help me bring the equipment to our base."

When Naru had left SPR, he'd also left his stuff, meaning important equipment. Lucky for Mai, though. They cost too much for her to even lay her hands on _one_ of them. Bou-san and the others nodded. Mai frowned—she seemed to be doing a lot of it lately. This wasn't a good start in the least. Once in base and once everything was connected and ready, Bou-san launched into a discussion.

"A death right before we arrive?" he asked, shaking his head. "You think whatever it is, is trying to scare us off?"

"Maybe…or maybe it's pure coincidence," Mai said, cocking her head to the side. She had the same suspicions Bou-san held but her role was to look at all possible theories even if it seemed unlikely. "But first we need to figure out what the outcome of this curse is, and in order to do that, we need to wait for Masako's reply."

"Want me to do a purification chant in the meantime?" Bou-san asked. Ayako narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was about to offer that."

"There aren't any live trees in this house," he said. "Well, not unless you count some small plants decorating the interior of the house."

"Fine," she relented with a small sigh. "I still think it's an earth spirit though."

"You always do, _honey_," Bou-san teased. Ayako looked taken aback at the endearment, but the obvious red that grew on her face was anything _but_ anger. Mai snickered despite the situation they were in. Ayako gave her a set look—distinguished as something along the lines of _I hate you_ and _Were you always this much of a A-hole?_

"Bou-san, you're free to do what you want," Mai said. "It won't hurt to try."

"Okay," Bou-san said, heaving himself off the sofa. "I'll go start."

In the living room, Bou-san began. The others watched him from their base through the monitors. "_On Kiri Kiri Bazara Bajiri Hora Manda Manda Unhatta. On Sara Sara Bazara Hara Kyara Unhatta. On Ami Rito Do Hanba Unhatta. On Biso Hora Daraki Sha Bazaar Han Jara Unhatta. On Asan Magini Unhatta. On Sha Ugyarei Maka San Maen Sowaka!_"

Mai stared at the monitor, expecting _something_ to happen. But nothing did, which deflated the energy she had built up. Disappointment coursed through her. Bou-san opened his eyes, looked around and turned back to the camera. He held a thumb up, indicating that there was no problem at all. Mai sighed.

"Ok guys, we can't do anything but wait for Masako's return—"

The opening of their door had them locked in a state of surprise. No, Masako wasn't the source of their shock and confusion. It was the person beside her. Mai was the first to recover, and in a flabbergasted voice, she spoke.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

**OoOoO**

**I had the next two chapters already written but I just looked through a bunch of sites about a certain element I wanted to bring into the story and it seemed I had my information wrong so now I have to re-write it all again. It'll take a while, so I apologize in advance. **

**Drop a review on your way, thanks. **

**Until next time, **

**-Azure E. **


	4. Conflicts & Hospitals

OoOoO

**Part 04: Conflicts and Hospitals**

OoOoO

"I need a seat."

Mai made her way to the couch and sat down before her legs could fail her. She'd been the first to break from their staring and had also been the first, and possibly only, person to gain a headache. Madoka, who had surprised them all with her sudden visit, was positively brimming with glee. Beside her, holding onto her hand was her three-year-old son, Haru Koujo. It had come as a shock to everyone also when they'd found out that stoic Lin Koujo had proposed to his cheeky colleague.

"Hi," she said excitedly. "So, we're working on the same case, are we?"

"Uh…we are?" Mai asked, turning her head up to look at the woman in surprise. "No—more than that, why are you _here_? I thought you'd be in England… You know, _with_ Naru?"

"Well," Madoka said, leading Haru and herself into the room at Ayako's silent invitation. "We did go to England, but Naru-chan only went there to solve a small business."

"Why didn't he reopen SPR?" John asked, curious.

"That, I don't know." Madoka shrugged. "You'll have to ask him yourself."

"Why didn't he contact us?" Ayako asked, hands on hip and a surly scowl on her face. "That Naru, making us all—" A soft nudge from Mai stopped the words flowing out of Ayako's mouth like a curse. It was ironic, considering their current case and all.

Madoka tapped her chin thoughtfully whilst Haru played with his hands. "About that, he did say something along the lines of 'too much trouble' and 'absolutely unnecessary', but Naru-chan has always been like that, no?" She snapped her head down to look at Haru so abruptly that Ayako grew alarmed. "No, Haru-chan. Your socks are dirty. Don't bite them, honey."

The boy frowned at his mother but knew better to comply. "He doesn't know that we're here, does he?" Mai asked quietly. Madoka looked at her, surprised. Shaking her head, she ruffled her son's hair. He playfully tugged at the hand, giggling. Mai was suddenly reminded of Shuri and Yuzuki—the two who already had a place in her heart.

"Nope, only us two do. I happened to see Ayako in one of our cameras."

"Good." Mai nodded quickly, almost to herself. "Keep it that way for as long as you can. I don't want to see him as of this moment. I don't mind greeting Lin; however, he'd most likely tell Naru and I can't have that happening just yet."

"Why don't you want to see him?" Masako asked, tilting her head to the side. Mai sighed, though it wasn't in frustration at her co-worker. It was due to personal frustrations. Mainly frustrations at herself.

"I have my reasons. I don't think I could take the stress." Mai couldn't bring herself to tell him of the pregnancy yet; she didn't want him to reject the twins before they were even born, not when she, herself, found it hard to still accept, but she also couldn't forgive him for leaving, albeit for a short while; it was probably due to the fact that those she cared most for were leaving her.

Her mother. Her father. Gone in an instant. Before she could completely grasp them, they had disappeared from her sight and left her shrouded in the dark. It was of no consolation that as of that moment, she hated him; he could've at least said "I'm back" as a common courtesy, but no. Of course he wouldn't.

"Hm…okay. I don't mind keeping a secret," Madoka shrugged. Mai smiled in relief and looked at Haru. She was now seeing him in a different light. A much different light. "Still, Mai. What are you doing here, seriously?"

"I'm on a case."

"But how can you—" She stopped and glanced at their faces. "Oh. You're boss now, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well," she snickered, "all I can say is the Kagamis must be desperate enough if they're even calling for _you_."

"Hey!"

"Jeez, I was kidding, Mai. But honestly, I didn't expect you to take up from where Naru left off."

"It's harder to let go," she said softly. She stood up and walked to the door, opening it and gestured the woman out. Madoka scoffed in mock disbelief, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Why, Mai-chan! Are you kicking me out?"

Mai grinned. "Well, doesn't look like I need to repeat it." She wrapped her arms around the woman, finding temporary comfort. Madoka was like a big sister to her. A rather crazy big sister, but that craziness was what calmed Mai down—as weird as it may sound. "Thanks for coming over, Madoka."

"No prob." She broke from the contact and tugged at Haru's hand to follow. Haru, who had been in the process of taking in the brunette's face, looked at his mother and nodded.

"Bye-bye," he said, waving to the SPR members.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Mai's stomach lurched, giving her warning to a soon-to-be messy ordeal. She briefly glanced at the clock. It was eight. Still morning. She sighed inwardly. She'd been wondering when she'd be hit with her morning sickness. She hid a retch behind a hand. Quickly grabbing hold of the brass knob, she practically yanked the door open and made her way as quick as she could to the bathroom, Ayako's voice calling after her from behind.

**OoOoO **

She rinsed her mouth with water then splashed a handful of the liquid onto her face, breaking away the sheen of sweat. She panted slightly, feeling sick to the core and filled with fatigue. Hands pressed against the bench, she looked up to see herself reflected from the mirror. She had to admit, she looked terrible. Her hair was in a mess and her face looked haggard and—dare she say it?—much too old for her age.

She tasted the acidic tang of bile once more, prompting her to turn the valve and rinse her mouth again. She exhaled shakily, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She couldn't help but recall the doctor's words.

"_There's life growing in you."_

As a thought sparked in her mind, she gulped and with trembling fingers, began pulling up her shirt to see her stomach. One short glance at the bulge—which, mind you, she had mistaken to be from over-eating—had her in mild hysterics. It really was true. She was pregnant. A small whimper escaped from her lips. Her hands fell to her sides, her shirt falling over stomach like a thin veil covering her eyes from the truth the bulge presented.

The truth that, until now, she never truly accepted. Not completely.

"_There's life growing in you…"_

The fear she'd suppressed was now taking its toll on her and suddenly, she couldn't feel her hands and feet. Numbness coursed through her, rendering her motionless and somewhat incapable of producing speech. An odd, strangled sound escaped her and before she knew it, she was crying. She was scared. She was usually an optimistic person but this…this was her limit.

She was confused. What would happen to her?

Her head hurt.

She didn't bother brushing the tears away. She knew they'd only continue to come. It was hard to breathe. What was she to do?

Her chest hurt.

She gripped her shirt tightly. The options passed through her mind.

Adoption.

She almost laughed. No, she couldn't. She couldn't, physically or mentally. No, she was much too selfish to even give her children the chance to grow and be nurtured in a stable environment. That didn't say much about her character, did it? Honestly, when had she become so self-centered?

That selfishness eradicated all other options.

Her heart hurt.

It wrenched and it tightened. She turned the tap back on and let the rush of water attempt to drone out her sobs.

**OoOoO **

When Mai arrived back at their base, she was in for a rather shocking surprise. Masako and Bou-san seemed to be in an argument of sort, however, from Mai's point of view, it seemed pretty one-sided and in Masako's favour. Heck, the woman wasn't even saying _anything_. She simply continued to look calmly at the raging man.

Bou-san, on the other hand, was fuming. Mai was somewhat afraid that he may lay a hand on the doll-like woman in front of him. And, due to her rashness, she decided to intervene. An idiotic move, on her part. Mai would soon learn to regret it. At that moment, however, all she could wonder was why everyone else was eyeing Bou-san in a way that was tantamount to fear.

"Bou-san."

"Mai!" Ayako hissed. "Get back here!"

"Bou-san?" she tried again. In her peripheral vision, she saw Masako shoot her a look that was…_frantic_. Bou-san didn't answer her, his concentration still on Masako. But when he glanced at her, albeit shortly, she saw something odd—but she couldn't place a finger on it. When he clenched his hand, Mai immediately knew it wasn't him. She also knew what was coming. But by then it was too late. He swiftly rounded on her and brought the fist towards her stomach. Her heart lurched. Fear showered her.

Shuffling feet.

"Mai!"

Whose voice that belonged to, she didn't know because before Bou-san could make contact with her abdomen, she was pushed roughly away. In the process, a sharp, agonizing pain blossomed in her head. She lost sight of the world around her, finding solace in the darkness.

But it was short-lived.

It didn't take long for Mai to find herself awakening. She knew she was conscious the moment her eyes threatened to flutter open. Rebelling, she clenched them shut and waited for the pain to arrive. When none came, she slowly opened her eyes and saw darkness. In comparison to the incident with Bou-san, this was much, much better. Unconsciously, she smoothed a hand across her stomach.

Then, the darkness turned into a white room. She knew where she was.

"You promised," Shuri muttered. "You promised."

"Shu-chan?"

"You broke your promise."

Mai frowned. "You're not Shu-chan…are you?"

"Liar."

Mai whirled around to find Yuzuki. But no, it wasn't him. It wasn't them. Their voices weren't right. It was too deep, too…_mature_. She held back a gasp of horror, whacking a hand to her mouth to stop the sound. Their eyes. Their eyes were entirely _black_.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

A hand fell on her shoulders and she jerked away.

"I'm sorry!"

"Mai."

She turned.

"Gene?"

"Calm down, Mai. These aren't the twins."

"W-What are they?"

"_Liar."_

"What are they?" she asked, a little more forcefully.

"_You didn't keep your promise."_

Gene looked at her. He saw her fear, her growing hysterics. He saw her slight curiosity held at bay by that fear and saw her strength. Now he understood why Noll was attracted to her, not that he saw her as anything more than a sister, which he believed she would one day become.

"They are the apparitions of your guilt."

"My guilt…?" She shook her head. That wasn't the point. "Apparitions? The twins _are_ apparitions."

"No. They are something more."

"What are they?" she repeated, though with newer meaning.

"Now's not the time, Mai."

She sighed. "It never is."

"It's time you woke, Mai." His form was no longer visible to Mai and his voice was growing distant. "They're waiting for you."

She blinked, her eyes finding nothing but blur amongst something white. She could vaguely hear voices but that was all. She blinked again in attempt to clear the haze; her vision cleared but her mind remained clouded. She heard the voice of an adult. A woman. It was familiar. Very familiar. What was her name?

"Mai!" that same, familiar voice shouted. "You're awake!"

She blinked again. Why was everything so…fuzzy? Why was her head pounding? Why was the room so bright? Why did she feel overly crowded? Why, _oh why_, didn't she know the answers? She attempted to clear her throat, but what came out was a rather strangled noise. That, however, happened to cease the crowd's noisiness and she found she liked it very much.

"Mai?" the deep, hesitant voice of a male asked. She looked at him—though the room was still thrumming—and spotted a dark blonde, though Japanese male staring at her concernedly with a touch of something she couldn't quite place; he wasn't the only looking positively worried. There was another person next to her and they were all worried. She licked her lips and tried for something…_coherent_.

"B-Bou…Bou-san?" She was right, right? She must've had a questioning look on her face because said person soon assured her that it was him. She nodded, mostly to herself, and received a pounding headache. She lifted a hand to gingerly touch the material that wrapped around her head. "W-Where"—she coughed slightly to clear her dry throat—"Where am I?" She scrunched her nose in disapproval. "It stinks."

"Well…you're in the hospital."

Ayako.

Fiery-red hair and occasionally dependable Ayako. Mai watched her curiously. The aforementioned lady had a little more to her eyes than simple anxiety over the teen's health. There was…guilt. Mai frowned. Now where had she seen something like that? Ah, that's right! Her eyes travelled back to Bou-san's and she gave out a thoughtful sound.

"Why…Why am I in the hospital?" she asked curiously.

"Uh…well." Bou-san scratched his head in an awkward manner. "I happened to be possessed and, uh…I…um—"

"What he means to say," Ayako took over, sending the monk a look, "is that we were on a case." Mai nodded as the memories slowly began to seep into her head. Ah yes, the Kagami case. "Bou-san happened to be possessed whilst you were gone. "When you came back, you attempted to stop him and he attacked you." Well, that explained the guilt in the monk's eyes but not hers. "And in trying to prevent that, I pushed you out of the way and you happened to hit your head against the corner of the coffee table and the vase fell on you, rendering you unconscious." Oh. She now understood why.

"What happened to the case? How far away are we? How long have I been out?"

"What are you talking about, Mai? The hospital is only two to three minutes away from the Kagami household. We saw the building when we came here. The case is fine. The others are handling it. And, you've only been out for about ten to fifteen minutes, so nothing to worry about there."

The doctor entered then, causing everyone to turn to him.

"Taniyama-san," he began. Mai, knowing what he intended to say, hushed the two adults out of the room before anything could be exposed. She was far from ready. Far, far from it. "You're approximately two months pregnant. Please take better care of yourself as the first semester is the most critical stage of pregnancy."

"I understand," Mai said quietly. "I'll make sure to take care."

He nodded and assured her the child was still fine. "Make sure to also get plenty of rest, avoid smoking and eat healthy. Don't put yourself in harm's way."

Mai nodded, taking in his words.

"Okay, I've got to go now, but I'll be back later to check on you. Your injury isn't too serious. Just a head wound. But it's my job to make sure." He left and Mai turned her gaze out the windows, watching as the trees moved to the flow of the wind.

When the doctor came out of the room, Ayako and Bou-san began asking questions they had only figured to ask.

"She's fine," he assured them. "There's no bleeding in her brain. She's suffered a grade three concussion, due to her unconscious phase, which can cause temporary disorientation, memory loss and unconsciousness."

"When can she be discharged?" Ayako asked.

"Today, however, if you want to be on the safe side, pick her up tomorrow. That way, we can be sure she's fine." Ayako and Bou-san nodded. "Although, be warned she may show signs of headaches, poor attention and concentration, memory difficulties, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances and light and noise intolerance. These are symptoms of post-concussion syndrome."

"How long will it last?"

"Days, weeks, months or a year," he elaborated. "However, her injury wasn't too severe. There's a chance it'll be brief. Just make sure she's well-rested and healthy. Let her drink lots of fluids too."

"Okay," Bou-san cleared his throat. "Thanks."

The doctor nodded and left.

**OoOoO **

When Madoka burst into their base that same day with an excited look on her face, she found the SPR members all either seated or standing still. They wore a common expression: solemnity. "Where's Mai?" Madoka asked. She was unaware of the glum faces around her. "I've got good news!"

"Mai…Mai's in the hospital," Ayako, who'd returned a little more than two hours ago, said. The memory of the limp girl would continue to haunt her. It took Madoka a few minutes to make sense of her words, and in those minutes, the SPR members were feeling guiltier.

"What?"

"There was an incident where…Bou-san was possessed by a ghost," Ayako continued to retell. "Mai…didn't know about this so when she approached him, he…he moved to attack her. I managed to push her out of the way just in time but she ended up hitting her head against the coffee table. The flower vase was what did her in. It gave her a gash. She got a concussion…and will be discharged tomorrow, just in case."

Madoka turned fully on Bou-san. "_You_ did this?" He only averted his eyes to the ground. She gripped his shirt and shook him, strength she wasn't aware she possessed coming into play. "How _could_ you! How could you do that?"

"I didn't mean to," he muttered. "I couldn't control—"

"Is that supposed to make up for it?" Her voice was shrilly and she was positively seething. "I should rip you to shreds, you fucking piece of—"

"Madoka!" Ayako cut her off. "We already feel guilty as it is."

Before she could then attack the miko with words, Madoka was lifted into the air and turned away from the SPR members. "Let go of me, Lin!"

"Stop it, Madoka," Lin murmured into her ear. "That's enough."

Haru watched his mother slowly shedding away her rage and Madoka quickly turned away from him when she realized he was gazing at her. He shouldn't see her like that. A sharp voice rang through the room and Madoka understood that she could no longer keep her promise to Mai.

"What's going on?"

"Naru—" He turned to her, cutting off her words.

"We could hear you from our base," he said, coldly. "I want an explanation."

When Ayako finished telling him what had occurred in that day, all he asked for was the hospital Mai was in. Once told, he walked out, muttering for Lin and Madoka to follow. But they all knew he was worried—well, as much as Naru was capable of worrying—and where he would be going tomorrow and if the atmosphere wasn't heavy with tense, they would've joked about it.

Madoka knew it wouldn't be a happy visit for Mai, whatever the teen's reason may be. She eyed Ayako thoughtfully. When the miko had retold the events to Naru, Madoka caught something in her—something she wasn't telling. Something she would probably take with her to the grave unless given permission otherwise.

All Madoka could wonder was whether they were all cursed in some way.

**OoOoO **

**Well, all I can say is that I'm glad I chose to rewrite this because it was **_**terribly**_** paced. It was so fast! I'm sorry to subjecting you all to that. I know I changed it a lot more than I realized. Why I gave Mai a concussion, I'll never know. Ah, jeez. Haha. Oh well. It's more fun this way. Oh, right. I don't claim to know a thing about concussions and discharges from hospitals and whatnot so bear with me on any mistakes. Feel free to correct me. **

**It's hard when even the internet gives you no complete answers. **

**To be honest, I actually wanna cry. Madoka is out of character. Very much so. And whilst it's not recent news, her OOC-ness is so very far from her original character, it kills a part of me on the inside. Let's not even go into Naru and Mai's OOC-ness. But I can't think of a way to change it without having the same outcome. **

**Anyhow, drop a review on your way. **

**-Azure E. **


	5. Close Calls & Close Doors

OoOoO

**Part 05: Close Calls and Close Doors **

OoOoO

Mai groaned inwardly.

She'd just woken from a dreamless sleep and her shoulders were feeling stiff. Sitting up, she carefully massaged them, making sure not to apply too much pressure for fear of irritating it further and receiving worse aches. The bandage around her head covered the throbbing wound but it continued to hurt whenever she moved her head too much. It was getting better, but horribly slowly.

As she looked at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was a little past eleven in the morning. She was being discharged today. The doctor had said as much. Before she could ponder deeper or begin to daydream, the door opened and Naru stalked in. Mai's expression turned into one of horror, but she managed to suppress it before it become obvious.

He sat in a chair and did nothing but watch her with his dark-blue eyes. Mai was feeling unnerved as he continued to do so and wracked her mind for anything to say.

"What are you doing here?" she deadpanned. And she wanted to hit herself. What the heck? She wanted to say something, sure. Something _pleasant_, that is! Something like "hi" or "how are you?"—not pick a fight.

"Picking you up."

Oh.

"Okay, I'll be ready soon." Deep within, Mai felt a storm coming. Whether it was due to the case or the person in front of her, she didn't know. She only knew a storm was coming, and a big one at that. It left nothing but negativity in its path. Dangerous, yet full of temptation.

When Mai finished with the bathroom, she was then discharged. She couldn't help but notice that silence was actually quite comfortable as she followed Naru out. She realized he was walking towards the path and understood that they were going to walk back, and it was just as well because she remembered his driving to be a real nightmare.

Mai sighed inwardly as thoughts clustered on a single topic. Naru glanced at her questioningly. It was then she realized she'd sighed aloud. She resisted the urge to sigh yet again. Oh dear. "Why'd you come back, Naru?"

He didn't say a word.

"You're not going to say anything, are you?" she asked monotonously. That must've struck as odd to the male in front of her, for he suddenly turned to face her and shot her an odd look. She shook her head. "Never mind."

Right. No time for personal matters. She had a job to do, after all.

"How—"

"You're still the same."

It was so abrupt, so unexpected that Mai was rendered speechless. When she finally snapped out of her stupor, she blinked and released an unintelligible, "Huh?"

"I suppose it was too much to hope for, after all," he muttered. An eyebrow twitched.

"Excuse me?"

"I was talking about your intelligence."

"What about it?"

"It hasn't changed."

"Neither have you."

He turned his head slightly and smirked over his shoulder. Mai felt rage surge. Narcissistic bastard. But no. She had to remain calm. She was eighteen—practically an adult. Adults did not get angry because of such a trivial reason. Unless, of course, they had a temper, and that in no way described her. She let her imagination run; silently wishing for the narcissist to walk into a pole wasn't a crime. It'd do him some good.

Unfortunately, she didn't get to witness him walk into a pole but a shiver did pass through her spine. Cool air? No. This was something much more than simple cold air. She stopped walking and looked to her right.

And almost did a double take.

Just across the street and shrouded behind bushes and trees, Mai could faintly make out a small cottage, of sort. Without so much as a warning, she stepped from the curb and onto the isolated road. Naru, sensing her lack of presence, turned and frowned.

"What is it?"

She didn't speak; she only pointed to the place she was feeling strongly drawn towards. Naru narrowed his eyes and grabbed her arm before she could continue to walk.

"Stop." His voice was full of cutting edge. "You can't go there."

"Why?" she asked him quizzically. "Something's telling me to go there, though. Something's there, Naru. Something that might be connected to our case."

_Onee-tan._

She turned back to the cottage and stiffened.

Was that…?

No.

It couldn't be…could it?

"Shu-chan?" she whispered. Said boy was waving at her, beckoning her to come. Before she knew it, her feet were moving across the asphalt and towards the other side of the road.

"Oi, Mai!" Naru growled, following after her. Mai, however, took no notice of him. Shuri was still beckoning her forward. And she planned on doing just that, but as she tried to move forward towards the cottage, she came into contact with a wall. An invisible wall. All her senses began to dim and she found herself greeting darkness once more.

**OoOoO**

She opened her eyes and grimaced slightly. As she watched the young man walk up her steps once again, she couldn't help but wish that he could give up on her to save them both the trouble and time. She wouldn't—no, couldn't allow her heart to be smitten again. The father of her child was dead and the pain from his passing had been intense. And although she didn't want to experience that same pain again, the reason why she didn't pursue the man in front of her was because of a different cause altogether.

"Have you changed your mind, Nadeshiko?" the man asked. The smile he gave her made her heart skip and she silently reprimanded it. Her face gave no way to emotions as she quickly and routinely gave her answer.

"No."

Why her heart constricted when his face fell, she didn't understand. To block out the image, she turned so that her back faced him. It was rude of her, but it was effective. Surely, he'd understand that she meant for him to leave. It wouldn't be the first time she'd done that to him.

"Please," she murmured. "Please leave."

Their future was never meant to entwine. She had once sought the future between the two of them and witnessed nothing but blood and death. The ugliest kind. She had wept that night. She understood that perhaps the gods had determined that her life would be loveless. And she had resolved that as long as she could watch her daughter grow, get married and have children, she would, more or less, be happy.

"Nadeshiko."

She looked at him, noticing that the way he spoke was now kinder; he was less demanding—he had matured. And for a brief second, she wished she could agree to his wish. But no. She couldn't risk that future. Not when it concerned everyone she held dear.

She couldn't risk her daughter's life.

It'd be much too selfish of her.

"Why do you hate me?"

The question that passed his lips in the form of a whisper had her frozen on the spot. She wanted to assure him that she didn't hate him and that had the future she foresaw been different, she would've already agreed to marry him. But she didn't answer him; she only walked further away from him. The tears sliding down her cheeks were the one thing he didn't see but should've seen, for it held the answer to his question.

Unbeknownst to her, a younger woman watched from the corner, feeling her blood boil. But Mai, who'd been thrust away from her Nadeshiko's body, saw the entire thing. And, for some unfathomable reason, she wondered why she felt sadness.

A hand on her shoulder startled her and eradicated the scene in the process. Mai turned and was met face-to-face with none other than Gene himself. She hadn't seen him since Naru had left.

"Gene!"

He smiled in return.

"NO!" a familiar voice shouted. Shuri. "Don't hog her, G-tan!"

"G?" Mai echoed.

"My nickname, apparently," he chuckled. She blinked, clearly at a loss for words. Why…Why did he know of them? No, no. _How?_

"I'm their guardian," he said, reading through her. "I make sure they don't expose too much and make sure their goals are complete before moving them on."

Mai looked grief-stricken. "They're…ghosts?"

"Yes."

"But—"

"They died only a few years after they were born." He motioned to the two, who were continuing to play with her hands. "As you can see. When their happy enough, they'll move on."

Move on, huh? Speaking of moving on…

"Hey, Gene," Mai began. "Not that I don't enjoy your ghostly company, but why haven't _you_ moved on? Why are you still suffering?"

**OoOoO**

"You want to mold both teams into one?"

Madoka nodded. Ayako frowned and tapped her chin with a manicured finger. "That way, everything will process quicker and we'll get the job done more smoothly," Madoka pointed out. She grimaced. "Speaking of team, I want to apologize to you all for my outburst yesterday. It was unfair of me to do so."

"Ah, come on, Madoka," Bou-san grinned. "Being formal doesn't become you." His smile died. "We were all at fault anyhow."

"No. It wasn't anyone's fault." She shook her head. "You were possessed; you had no claim to your body. What Mai did was foolish but she did it because she was worried. And Ayako pushed her, not to harm her but to put her out of harm's way.

"Besides," she murmured, "it's not our role to dictate Fate's words. I'm sure what happened to Mai happened for a reason."

"We don't know much about this case," John said, all eyes turning to him, "so I think it's best if we combine both teams. For now, at least."

"I agree," Masako spoke. "Mai's injured now and we don't have a substitute for her, nor do we want her to overwork herself whilst still injured."

Bou-san, nodding through all this, frowned and brought an unasked question aloud. "Will Naru become angry at this?"

Madoka pretended to think and was soon beaming. "He might. But we've never really cared either way. It'll be easier for us to monitor those two idiotic teens too. Naru will thank us later."

Ayako, who Madoka noticed from the corner of her eye, seemed fidgety and anxious. There was a big secret on the tip of the miko's tongue, not knowing whether she should tell or not—Madoka recognized the symptoms. One way or the other, Ayako would let slip and something unexpected would be unleashed. Madoka just wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to be in the same room when that happened.

Bou-san, who found amusement in Madoka's words, whistled whilst Masako hid a smile. She'd long gotten over Naru when she realized she was too afraid to love another and so she didn't mind Mai still head-over-heels in love with him, but sometimes she wished they'd just open up to each other already. One of these days, she may have to resort to pushing the two into a cupboard and locking them up until one of them confessed.

She sighed silently. Those stubborn fools.

Bou-san frowned as he felt the sweep of cold pass by his exposed skin. Quickly making his way over to the monitors, he scanned his eyes over the readings and clicked his tongue, catching the attention of everyone in the vicinity of room.

"Hey guys; the temperature just fell."

**OoOoO**

"I'm not suffering, Mai," Gene smiled. However, Mai couldn't help but notice that it didn't quite meet his eyes. "But I can't move on yet."

"But—"

"I have a job to complete and I plan on doing so. I'm your spirit guide and also the twins' guardian. So until you and the twins are ready, I can't go anywhere."

Mai sighed. Gene's tone of voice had implied that he wanted the matter to drop and Mai didn't want to push the subject further if he didn't want to talk about it. She could empathize as she herself had been in that sort of situation before.

"Fine. I'll stop…for now." She looked at him. "About…Nadeshiko; she…she loved him, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"But she didn't want a relationship with him." A statement, but Gene answered her nonetheless.

"No."

"Oh."

Mai tapped her chin thoughtfully and knitted her brow together in concentration. It seemed that Nadeshiko was convinced that she didn't want anything with him even though she loved him due to their future of blood and death. But if that were so, why did— No. What interested Mai most was the end of that scene. Just who was that person at the end? Why was she glaring at Nadeshiko like that?

"Ne, Onee-tan!" Shuri called, tugging at her pants to get her attention. "Why didn't you go to house? I waited a looong time!"

Mai froze. Snapping out of her stupor, she knelt and looked him straight in the eye. "You were really there?"

"Mm," he nodded, sending a sideway glance to his brother who simply ignored him and continued to play with Mai's hair, now that he could reach. "But you didn't come."

"I couldn't, Shu-chan. There was something blocking."

He frowned and then sighed, shrugging the matter aside. "Oh well! Play?"

"Mai." She looked at Gene inquiringly. "It's time to go back."

"Uh, sorry guys," she said, ruffling their hair. "I can't play with you right now."

Shuri grimaced then nodded.

"Bye-bye then."

Yuzuki ruffled her hair and she arched an eyebrow his way. Having retracted his hand, he picked at the hem of his shirt and looked at the floor bashfully.

"Payback," he muttered.

And then they were gone.

**OoOoO**

Mai frowned.

The smell was a mystery. Where was it coming from? It was…comforting, and strangely familiar. She sniffed again. It was decided. She liked it very much. Someone very close to her cleared their throat.

"Get up, Mai."

That seemed to snap her from her somewhat conscious state. Slowing, she opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear the blur in her vision. She felt herself moving and yet she didn't feel her legs doing the moving for her. An incoherent mutter left her lips and ending in a tone that sounded like a question.

"Get up," the voice repeated again. "You're heavy."

_Very impatient,_ Mai thought.

When everything finally registered in her mind, her eyes widened and she reflexively jerked back. That earned a low growl from Naru as he righted his grip on her before they could both become the victim of a nasty fall. Why…was she on his back? She was bewildered, to say the least, and terribly self-conscious of the fact that she'd just _sniffed_ the antisocial male.

Wait—was there a faint tinge of red sweeping across Naru's features? Mai tried to move to see better but he was keeping his face hidden from her curious eyes, much to her annoyance.

"Get off."

Mai sighed inwardly and relaxed back into her previous position. Nope; must've been her imagination.

"No thanks!" She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out. It was awfully childish of her, but she needed a distraction from the red that was undeniably creeping up her neck and this just so happened to be it.

"It wasn't a request, Mai." It was said coldly. It was so terribly uncaring that Mai paused. Then she hopped off and resumed walking on her own two feet, her mind elsewhere and troubled. Naru, who had expected her to put up more of a fight before losing—he had full conviction that she would've lost—turned to look at her quizzically.

However, his gaze was lost on her; she wasn't looking his way, nor was she trying to steal glances. She was trapped in her own little wonderings of what-ifs and pessimistic thoughts. For the umpteenth time in that minute, Mai sighed softly, prompting yet another look from Naru. Close ahead, Naru saw the Kagami house. He shook his head. It'd taken long enough.

Although, it had been somewhat amusing—not that he'd ever admit it aloud.

Mai, on the other hand, was feeling emotion after emotion clash against one another, giving a cause to new worry and a reason to harden her heart and mentality. Naru's short and indifferent words had brought up the reason why she had been tempted to avoid him in the first place. Speaking of which, _why_ had he found out about them?

"How did you know I was here?"

They were approaching the Kagami's front door. And again, curse the stupid hill their house was on. Dammit, by the time this was all over, she'd be all muscular from the workout. Oh god, think of the horror!

"Madoka," was Naru's one-worded answer. Mai nodded unconsciously as she laid a hand around the brass knob. She turned it and frowned. Glancing back questioningly at Naru, she awaited for his input on the subject. He didn't do anything, merely stared back at her. She sighed and turned back to the door once more. She brought her hand up and rapped loudly on the wood.

She frowned again. Something…was off. Mai shivered and glanced at the sky above. The sky was still light. Much too bright for the odd sensation she was feeling. She brought her attention back to the door and knocked again.

Nothing.

She was about to move away to look for another way in when suddenly the house erupted into a chorus of screams. Mai was rendered speechless as she watched the blood trickle out from the gap beneath the door. She took a step back obliviously and tripped over her feet. Luckily, Naru instinctively caught her before any possible harm could befall both mother and child.

Knowing her clumsiness, she could've tumbled down the hill if given the chance to.

If the situation was different, the deep shade of red wouldn't have hesitated to flurry across her face, but as of that moment, Mai only wished this wasn't real. A dream. And despite embarrassing situations, her main concern lay in the silent house before them. No longer were there screams or shouts. The blood, however, was the only thing that continued to trickle from the under the door. As she continued to stare at the door in grief, an image soon stole a whimper from her. She felt Naru's hold tighten.

"What, Mai?"

She lifted a hand to point at the door. But it wasn't the door. It was the woman in front of it, looking at the both of them with such a sad expression that Mai wondered what she should make of it. It was the woman she'd seen in her dreams; the one who had rejected Akira countless of times. Nadeshiko, wasn't it? She looked directly at Mai, as if begging her with her eyes alone. Begging for what, Mai didn't know. She shook her head and spread her arms wide. She was intentionally blocking their way into the house, barricading them from entering.

"Nadeshiko."

**OoOoO**

**I should tell you all (those who have read this before) that I have changed the entirety of Nadeshiko's story. **

**Also, I'm sorry. I've done a lousy job at updating and in a few days, I'm heading back to school so that means that there may be less updates. Maybe. Probably. It's just that I'm trying to be more organized and in order to do so, I gotta dedicate. And yes, I know that hasn't worked out so far for me, if we're talking about story updates, but I'm gonna try anyways. **

**Until next time, **

**-Azure E. **


	6. Appointments & Deaths

OoOoO

**Part 06: Appointments and Deaths **

OoOoO

The door opened.

Mai watched dumbly as the image of the woman disappeared and was replaced by a young child in the middle of the doorway. Yui's daughter. Her long brown hair was neatly plaited down her back and she seemed to be about six, at least. She seemed normal but there was something about her—and it wasn't the deformation to her face—Mai would have to check into that later—that sent a chill down Mai's back. She righted herself and placed some space between her and Naru, her eyes never leaving the smiling child.

She snapped her head to look down and jerked back in surprise. The blood was gone. There wasn't a trace of it ever gracing the door or pavement. The girl giggled and Mai brought her eyes back onto the child in front of her. If there was one particular feature of the girl that brought anxiety over Mai, it'd be her faded brown eyes. That usually linked to spiritual possession. The chances of that were high, especially considering the things going on in this place.

"L-Let's go check on the others."

But what stopped Mai short in her tracks and made her blood chill were the words that fell from the child's mouth.

"Only four more to go."

Mai looked the child in the eyes and was about to say something when Yasu sprinted towards them, hair in a mess and dark grey eyes filled with urgency. Stopping abruptly before them, he suddenly said, "Good; you're both here." Then he turned and started to run back. When both of the confused two—although Naru would never admit it—failed to move, he stopped and called for them to hurry.

"John's in trouble," he explained quickly. That served as more than enough of an explanation. However, instead of following after Yasu, Mai ordered he be responsible for bringing the child along too.

"Alright," he said. "Just hurry."

As soon as they reached the base, Mai smelt the suffocating scent of burnt walls. The next thing Mai noticed was John suspended in mid-air by a dark entity, Bou-san chanting away furiously and the others either gaping or watching in horror. Mai sucked in a sharp breath. She continued to watch as Bou-san stopped with a grunt, unable to force the spirit to release the blonde male.

"It's no use. I can't do it."

"Where's Lin?" Mai voiced hurriedly. The Chinese man should know what to do. It was his expertise, after all.

"He and Haru weren't with us when everything blacked out," Madoka bit out worriedly. "They may still be at our base but…"

"Now that everything died down, they should've come," Mai finished. Her eyes darted back to John, who was still resisting being strangled. "Go, find Lin."

Ayako and Madoka rushed out. The brunette ignored the pain shooting through her head and lifted her fingers in front of her, muttering the mantra Bou-san had taught her at her request then promptly began chanting "Rin! Pyou! Tou! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" whilst performing the Kuji-in.

It seemed to give John some relief as the spirit loosened its hold but John was still a captive and, overall, Mai had done absolutely nothing. Mai beckoned for Bou-san to come, and suggested they combine their strength. As they carried the act through, Mai couldn't help but sense the almost overwhelming power from them both—the power that was missing in only hers and his. As Mai looked at John, she saw that whatever that dark thing was it had been ousted.

Ayako returned to them in a hurry, breath short and quick, as if she'd been running. "Lin—" she began then swallowed thickly before continuing. "He's injured. Bleeding. There's so much blood."

"Ayako," the brunette attempted to soothe even as she began to worry. "Calm down. Where are they?"

She fumbled around, confused and clearly horrified. Mai had never seen Bou-san move as swiftly as he had right then, closing strong arms around the red-haired woman, muttering calming words. Mai heard Ayako mutter something back, face buried against the monk's chest. Bou-san glanced at Mai and Naru once, the words, "He's in their base" said quickly before he turned his attention back to the Ayako.

All but Bou-san and Ayako rushed to the scene. It was just as well; Ayako had been at the point of hysterics. Mai wondered just how bad it truly was. Something was clear, though. It was no ordinary injury. It was life or death.

Mai was the first to enter the room, the first to see everything in full view and as she did, the sight caused her to slap a hand across her mouth as her brown eyes widened in horror. Lin was barely breathing, Mai realised as she rushed towards his still form. His clothes were covered in blood, as well as his hands but Mai saw the source of the bleeding.

His stomach.

Madoka came out of the bathroom, shaking and holding onto a white towel. Without a word, she pressed the material against his injury in an attempt to staunch his wound. "Mai," she said. Her voice was hoarse. Mai could hear the tears in her voice even though she couldn't see Madoka's face, which was currently obscured from her vision. "Would you check on Haru in the bathroom? I told him to stay there while I…_deal_ with this. He's scared. Calm him, please."

The brunette uttered not a word as she moved into the bathroom. Haru was huddled in a corner, seemingly endless tears streaming down his cheeks as he choked out sobs. Mai crouched in front of him and placed a hand gently on his head. That alone seemed to cause Haru to suddenly cry loudly, his sorrow and trauma released but not gone.

Mai gathered the boy in her arms, hoping to offer what little comfort she could give, listening as he cried for his parents.

Outside, Naru watched as his assistant struggled between life and death. He'd already barked at Masako and John to call for an ambulance. They had left, astounded and shocked, without a word. Naru knelt by Lin's side, hearing Madoka's panic of "Oh god, why won't it stop" and saw Lin trying to say something, only to cough violently.

"Damn!" Naru growled under his breath. Why wasn't the ambulance here yet? "Do I have to do everything myself?"

As Naru moved to stand, Lin's hand gripped around his wrist with unbelievable strength, especially by one in Lin's state. Realising the strain the action had upon the man, Naru eased back down, allowing Lin to release his hand. "Li…Listen," he grounded out. Naru couldn't help but notice the free flow of blood as Madoka fumbled for another towel.

"C-Cursed house…bidding…" He stopped, fighting off unconsciousness. "Same de…deal." He grunted. Looking Naru sharp in the eyes, he growled out, "Get me…an ambu…ambulance, dam…dammit!" He mumbled a curse before his eyes closed. In any other situation, Naru would've found the Chinese man swearing weird and perhaps amusing.

Naru swore.

"Mai!"

The brunette rushed out and abruptly halted upon seeing the anger evident on his face. If Mai concentrated a little more, she would've seen the fear in his eyes.

"Ambulance," he choked out. Madoka could be heard near him with "You die on me and I'll make sure you won't ever rest in peace!"

Mai nodded, lifting Haru into her arms and quickly left the room.

"Daddy!"

"Shh, Haru-chan." The three-year-old wouldn't be soothed, it would seem, as the boy continued to thrash around, wanting his father. "Haru-chan, be a good boy now. We're going to save your daddy, okay?"

That calmed the boy to an extent. The tears continued but the momentary fit of difficulty stopped.

"Save daddy," he repeated.

**OoOoO**

The ambulance arrived not long after. After minutes of waiting, they had all grown impatient. Ayako had called the hospital countless of times, eventually _demanding_ that they hurry their ass over to them—she had attempted to threaten them but before they could hear it, Bou-san had taken the receiver out of her hands, uttered an apology and hung up, leaving her unfinished sentence to assumptions. They had been so impatient that Bou-san had suggested they take him there themselves. However, they had all then agreed that moving Lin in his current condition would probably do him more harm than good.

Lin had left for the hospital unconscious and barely responsive. Madoka went with him, leaving the others to focus on the case and endless worries. Naru was seated in an armchair, reading over a file Mai had compiled beforehand. With a frown, Naru called her over.

"Nadeshiko?"

"Yes. She had lived in this house with her sister, Haruka, and an unnamed daughter."

"Was crying," Haru piped up from his spot on the couch.

"Yes," Mai murmured absentmindedly. "You were crying."

Haru shot her a confused glance before shrugging and turning back to the magazine in his hands. After a few half hours of trying to calm the boy down, he had finally grown quiet after finding the magazine on the coffee table. He'd casually point out at the colours on the pages.

"Akira Kagami."

Although it wasn't a question, Mai was compelled to reply. "As you figure from his surname, he appears to be the Kagami's ancestor—although I've yet to check for a confirmation. He was in the dream trying to…er…_woo_ Nadeshiko."

Naru sighed and closed the file. As he rubbed his eyelids, Mai couldn't help but notice that he seemed…_exhausted_. What happened to Lin must've taken a toll on him—because unlike before when _she_ had injured Lin, this was on a whole other level. Everyone was on edge at the moment. Shaking her head, Mai slumped on the seat beside Haru, leaving her mind to roam freely in hopes of getting _something_.

_Blood seeping from the door. _

Maybe this job was getting to her. There was rarely a night that passed by when she hadn't closed her eyes, only to see the blood or ghosts or victims. What was a girl to do when both her waking hours and dreams were consumed by the paranormal and pain?

_Nadeshiko warding them away. _

That had been especially weird. Why would a ghost do that? It wasn't out-of-this-world weird, as it had happened once or twice before, but it was undoubtedly improbable. Usually, many of the ghosts she'd encountered had been vicious—and one would say, with reason to be so—but for what purpose did she do that? Was she protecting them? And, if so, from what?

_A child in the doorway— _

Wait a minute.

Mai sat upright, eyes wide and gaping. "Naru." He glanced her way. "How many males are left in this household?"

"Four."

"That would be…?"

"Yui-san's husband," Ayako subbed in, "her son, her husband's uncle and her husband's elder brother."

"She has a daughter, though."

"Sheesh, Mai," Ayako muttered, shaking her head. "Are you daft?"

"Ayako—"

"She has a daughter _and_ a son."

"The curse is targeting the remaining males," Naru stated.

"So we'll need to protect them," Mai said, nodding. "Which reminds me. Bou-san, could you go ask the family about the deformation to the Kagami women's face?"

"Yeah. I've been meaning to do that myself. It's not normal to see a child looking as if their faces were almost burnt so badly, like it almost melted off. Especially when it's ranging from infants to adults.

"By the way, Mai, we've decided to join both teams together," Bou-san said, figuring they'd have to tell her eventually. "You just got injured; you need rest and little stress so…"

"Okay," she said. She understood their kind intentions and it was her problem with Naru, not theirs. She could deal with him. Heck, maybe the opportunity to tell the father of her child that he had contributed in the making of twins would present itself.

"Well, I'm off," Bou-san said.

Mai rested herself on the couch. She was a little sorry that she was too tired to help them out but her body was begging for rest and she found herself complying.

**OoOoO **

Mai grimaced as she watched the clock tick by gradually, each sound reminding her of her appointment set at exactly three in the afternoon, which would be in about thirty minutes. And if Mai was correct in her estimation, she'd need at least twenty minutes to reach her appointed place. She huffed and her glare hardened at the offensive ticking of the object. She was cutting it a bit too close for her liking.

Ayako, who'd been eyeing the teen for quite some time, had a frown on her face. With an inner conflict troubling her, she continuously wondered whether she should tell the girl that she knew her secret. Of course, in a few months time, it wouldn't be a secret any longer but that didn't excuse the fact that—

"Ayako." Startled, the miko couldn't do anything but stutter a yes. "I need to go…somewhere, so would it be alright if I take off for a bit?"

"Y-Yeah, uh, sure. You can." She turned to Naru, who was listening to their conversation even though his deadpanned expression said otherwise. "She can, right, Naru?"

He released a sigh and nodded once. Ayako swore she saw a quick, second of relief pass through the girl's face but wondered whether she was just seeing things due to lack of sleep when Mai's face remained composed after she blinked.

Mai then frowned. Why did she need to ask him whether she could go or not? She was boss too. But on another note, Mai was more than happy to relinquish her right as boss to the narcissist; the role had too much pressure and she'd rather follow than lead in this line of work. Still, she'd worked hard for this position; she wasn't about to give it up like it was nothing.

"Maybe I should take you," Bou-san said, thoughtfully and equally concerned. That received a distressed yelp from the teen.

"No!"

The moment passed and Mai could've been drilled with holes by the intensity of everyone's surprised stare after her outburst. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them with a thought in mind. "So what did they say about the women's face?"

"They were born with it."

"What?" That small piece of information had temporarily caused her to forget about her rush to keep to schedule. "They were…"

He nodded. "Apparently, they think it's a curse against the females. The males are murdered and the females are disfigured so badly that they won't be able to marry and produce a possible male which would eventually die at an early age."

"I see…" Mai bit her nails. "I need a family tree when I get back. Do you think I could get one?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"Okay." She nodded, mostly to herself, then looked at the clock and almost jumped. "I need to go."

"But your concussion…"

"Is almost completely healed," she finished, dismissing his concern with a grin. "I won't be back for a while." She rushed to the door, grabbing the key to the van from the monk's reluctantly outstretched hand. Damn, three minutes off schedule already. "Actually, I'll be back by dinner. Maybe later. Bye!"

The door shut after her as they heard hurried steps growing distant with every second.

"What…was that all about?" John asked.

Ayako merely shook her head and sighed.

"Who knows? The girl has always been unpredictable."

And even Naru had to agree with that.

**OoOoO **

"They're monozygotic," the doctor said, "meaning they're identical, but yes, they are twins. Their heartbeats are strong; they're healthy."

"So…what you're saying is that I'm carrying…_twins_?"

"Yes," the doctor said, confirming it for the fifth time.

"You mean to tell me that those separate entities on the screen are twins?"

"Yes."

"_Twins?_"

"_Yes._"

"B-But, how—!"

"Well, a few days after fertilization, the egg split—"

"I _know_ how twins are made; I took biology in school—I just…" She shook her head then glanced up at him, desperation in her eyes. She wasn't financially stable. Sure, SPR's clienteles gave them plenty of money but when split amongst the others, her share wasn't all that much. She may have been able to raise one child.

But two?

He pointed at the image on the screen, circling around two particular parts. "See this? They're individual sacs, meaning they're not sharing the same sac, but they are sharing the same placenta."

She knew all this and it was frustrating to listen when she was distressed but she continued to take in his words nonetheless.

"In the case of having identical twins, the zygote will have split to form two embryos. As they had originated from one and the same egg, their DNA is the same, thus making them identical."

Okay. So she was definitely having twins.

Now the problem was how to tell Naru. It wasn't a good time; bad timing was able to be blamed on either some ghost frolicking into their lives or Naru's previous abandonment on all of them. Mai still wasn't sure. Maybe it was both.

**OoOoO **

Mai drove to a park, finding comfort in the sounds of the wind and birds chirping from nearby trees. She needed to calm down and try to see things from a positive perspective—plan what she had to do. But all that kept floating to her brain was the fact that she'd be in for an emotional and physical ride. The thought of adoption half-registered in her mind before she brutally tossed the thought aside.

No.

She was lonely; too lonely. Ayako, Bou-san and the others were there for her but there would always remain that barrier between them that marked them as simply close _friends_. Here was the chance to have two who'd stay with her—her own flesh and blood that'd grow to love her just as much as she'd love them. Here was the chance to have a _family_. Something Mai always felt she lacked.

She'd find a way. Her stubbornness was what she was known for, after all. And she'd tell Naru one of these days, God help her. She'll tell him and if he decided he didn't want any part in all this, then so be it. But deep in the crevices of Mai's heart, she believed that Naru's character was responsible. She wanted him to accept, but Mai didn't want forced love.

That was too painful.

She stood up, not wanting to ponder through her contradictory emotions and thoughts—and also to make her way to that cottage Shuri had beckoned for her to move to that morning.

Whilst driving to the remote area, Mai couldn't help but notice that the trees seemed to be closing together, blocking her view. She frowned as she parked on the side of the road and got out, the slam of the door echoing around her. Hands on hips, Mai stared directly at the small house which had been on her mind ever since she'd seen it.

Now there was no adorable child, calling her forward. Only the ghost of a wind summoned her forth. Was it weird that she felt empty? Carefully stepping around sharp twigs scattered over the bushy floor, she couldn't help but feel the affirmation to her musings. The trees were indeed gathering together and the cottage, to her alarm, was moving farther away. She stopped and rubbed her eyes, sure that it was all a trick or a case of fatigue or dehydration.

Neither was the case.

She trudged further towards the small shelter, her determination overruling her logic. And then she did, perhaps, the most outrageous thing yet. Something that questioned her ruling sanity. She'd called for the woman in front of her, somewhat obscured by the thick branches and leaves.

"Miss, wait!"

Mai blinked once and the woman had disappeared, leaving the brunette to wonder whether it had all been a hallucination. Was she suffering from a heat stroke? But Mai knew she'd seen the dark-haired beauty in the midst of trees. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized the woman could've been a ghost. But no. It couldn't be…right?

She frowned as she realized something was wrong. The cottage was no longer there and neither was the faint outline of van behind her. Something was undeniably wrong. It happened so quickly Mai was given no time to comprehend it. The dizziness. The sudden feel of sickness. The need to sit down. She felt herself fall and then it was lights out for the brunette.

**OoOoO **

"Mai."

She groaned then opened her eyes, only to then blink a few more times in order to clear her hazy vision.

"G-Gene?"

"Mai," he said. "I'll show you another piece to the puzzle."

"Nadeshiko's past," Mai murmured.

"Watch."

Scene change. This time, Mai was looking at the past as an audience, not the main character. Nadeshiko, the dark-haired beauty, was asleep. Mai narrowed her eyes when she realized smoke was spewing into the room. Then she noticed the blazing crimson of flames licking at the tatami mat and approaching the sleeping woman.

Nadeshiko stirred awake, her eyes widening in horror as she coughed violently. "W-Wha—?"

Simultaneously, both she and Mai spotted the shorter-haired woman by the door, watching the other. An almost crazed look on her face, the evil smile did nothing but confirmed Mai of the woman's madness. "H-Haruka"—cough—"we need to get out."

"Goodbye, onee-sama."

"H-Haruka?" Said woman turned and began walking away. As Mai followed Haruka, the brunette saw that the woman was not leaving the house. In fact, she was walking over to sit in front of a picture of two people.

"Mother," Haruka said. "Father. Forgive this child for her sins." The same evil smile etched upon her face. "There is no need to worry; Onee-sama will be heading to Heaven. And I—I will be sent to an eternity of suffering.

"But I am already suffering on Earth. This eternity will mean nothing. I shall also inflict my pain upon others. My pain from unrequited love. I will do away with the entire Kagami males." She laughed, but the tears sliding down her cheeks spoke volumes to the watching brunette. "Forgive me. Onee-sama. Father. Mother. Forgive me."

Mai couldn't stop her tears, nor would she if she had the choice. This was too sad—far too sad.

"It's time to go back, Mai."

She nodded. But before they'd completely left, an ear-splitting scream echoed from the previous room they'd occupied.

"_Haruka!_"

**OoOoO **

**I'm late, as per usual. This took me a whole nine weeks to write. While I'm not finished with school yet, I have finished my exams and so I had the chance to finally complete this. Whoo!**

**Anyways—with that last scene of Nadeshiko's (and Haruka's) death, I had a little trouble expressing the image in my head into words. So, tell me what you think of this chapter and how you think I could improve. **

**-Azure E. **


	7. Captured & Betrayal

OoOoO

**Part 07: Captured and Betrayal **

OoOoO

With a strangled gasp, Mai jerked awake. The first thing she noticed was the musty smell around her. Her brain somewhat registered the room—a cabin—and then she was fully awake, panicking on the inside as she realised her hands were bound in front of her by what seemed to be thick ropes. She struggled futilely against it; the ropes never loosened and her measly attempts seemed to do more bad than good. She wondered briefly just how long she'd been bound; she could barely sense any feelings in her hands and it worried her.

"Where am I?" she murmured to herself, eyes roaming her confinement. She looked down at her feet and saw they were left unbound. Scrambling to her feet, her headed straight for the door and with her hands, she twisted the knob urgently, only to find it locked. Before she had the chance to act on the hysteria and anxiety swirling in her stomach, she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She repeated only a single phrase as if uttering a mantra.

"Breathe and think."

She turned and headed towards the window, unclasping the lock and tried pushing it up. Unfortunately, it seemed to be jammed, not budging in the least. She snapped her head to her left, saw the chair and, after precious seconds of struggle, she managed to get a firm grasp on the wooden object. Without hesitation, she threw the chair at the window with as much force as she could muster. The window may have shuddered but other than that, nothing happened. The chair fell harshly onto the floor.

"It's futile."

Mai swirled around. Her eyes widened further when it took in the transparent form of the all-too-familiar woman in front of her. Her eyes displayed rage and a hint of curiosity. Mai took a single, unconscious step back as she swallowed down the hysteria bubbling up her throat.

"H-Haruka!"

The woman's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"How do you know my name, Witch?"

_Witch?_

"I-I…"

She sneered. "Hm. Never mind my question. The answer is quite self-explanatory. You're so much like my sister. Granted, you don't look like her and you barely hold a candle to her powers but you're still very much like her. How disgusting."

Mai gulped. Rarely had she heard a spirit speak so much in such coherent words. Usually they said riddles or pointed. Some were unable to speak at all. But some didn't feel as dangerous as this particular one did.

"I'm not supposed to kill you," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "but I can make an exception."

Without her permission, a lone thought escaped past the steely barriers of her mind.

_Naru._

**OoOoO **

"Where's Mai?" Ayako murmured, pacing relentlessly. Each step filled with increasing worry. "It's almost ten; it's pitch black outside. Just _what_ is she doing?"

"Ayako," Hosho said, grimly. "Mai's a big girl now. I'm sure she can look after herself."

"You don't understand!" Ayako said, slamming a hand down on the window seat. Hard. "She's unbelievably vulnerable as of this moment! Mai is pr—!"

Naru looked up from the case file in his hands.

"Mai is what?"

"P-Prone to danger!"

Hosho gave her an odd look and he wasn't the only one. Much to her surprise, though she'd later wonder why it had taken her by such a surprise, Naru was watching them. Before anyone could comment on Ayako's unconvincing words, he held up a hand to silence them all. He was surprised they obeyed so obediently but said nothing of it.

"_Noll."_

Naru frowned. Gene usually appeared to him through mirrors or the clear surfaces of water. He didn't usually attempt telepathy; it took too much energy and resembled, for lack of better term, bad reception as they hadn't had much practice on it since Gene had become a spirit. However, mirrors and water relied on chance; whether Gene wanted to talk to him or not wasn't up to him. To contact him like _this_ had to mean something urgent needed his attention. His mind flashed to a certain brunette.

"_Noll."_

"_Gene." _

"_Quickly…help…late…Mai."_

Mai?

"_Where is she, Gene?"_

"_She's at…quickly…before…too late."_

The communication ended, with Naru left confused. What was Gene talking about? What had this to do with Mai? Help who—

He cursed under his breath.

Of course. Trust the danger magnet to attract such a threat that forced Gene to such extremities. He stood quickly and made his way to the door only to then pause in his steps. Charging in directionless would get him nowhere. He needed to figure out where she'd gone. His eyes glanced up at his old team.

"Brown-san, Matsuzaki-san, go search for Mai and see whether she's somewhere in the house. She may have come back and went to sleep or to the kitchen or the toilet. Point is, scan every inch of the place." He paused. "Take Hara-san with you." If the medium sensed any spirits, it'd do more good than bad for them. After all, Mai had most likely been taken by a spirit. Masako seemed to understand.

"Takigawa-san and Madoka will come with me to search for her outside."

"Has something happened to her, Naru?" Ayako asked.

"There's a high chance."

Ayako shook her head. "Why is it always her?"

"She's too bright – too kind for her own good," Masako said. "They're attracted to her. They love her and yet some hate her also."

"It doesn't make sense," Ayako said, sighing in exasperation. "Nothing about this ever makes sense."

"We'll meet back by midnight."

Before they dispersed, Yasu felt the need to ask, "What about me?"

"Stay here with Haru and keep an eye on the monitors and temperatures."

"I'm beginning to see why Mai was so upset at being left out," Yasu grumbled to himself.

Naru ignored him.

**OoOoO **

"Did you say something, Madoka?"

Said woman raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Naru scowled and looked away. It must've been the wind or something. It'd do him no good to start hearing voices now.

_Naru._

"What is it?" he asked, curtly. Madoka regarded him with renewed interest whilst Hosho looked confusedly at him. He almost threw Madoka a dirty look. He didn't need the monk's confusion and he certainly didn't want Madoka's curiosity.

"We didn't say anything, Naru," Hosho said.

Naru glared at the trees.

He needed to calm down and _think_. Where could Mai be? Where would she go? Naru sighed internally. It was harder than he thought to put himself in the brunette's mindset. Especially considering how secretive she was being of late. It'd take a lot more than silence from Mai for her to keep hiding the fact that she had a secret. She may be relatively strong and capable when it came to her psychic abilities—she was strong enough to be the lead investigator of a case—but Mai lacked a certain quality when it came to hiding things from others.

She was much too obvious.

He was certain he'd figure out her secret sooner rather than later; however, for some reason he didn't want to admit to himself, the very fact that she was hiding things from him was…_irksome_ and, truth be told, highly irritable. He clenched his teeth; it annoyed him just by thinking of it.

"_Onii-tan."_

He snapped his head to look over at the area in front of him, into the thicket of trees. Before they knew it, all three were walking down the path back to the house from the hospital. There weren't any cars but the streetlights were on, illuminating the road. This place… He knew this place. He and Mai had walked this path just a recently. His eyes snapped back to the forest. Mai had wanted to go into the forest, to search for a cottage, apparently. A cottage that was cold and appeared to be haunted. She'd explained later, in a dazed trance, but it had been vague.

He had seen no cottage.

He knew Mai; she wouldn't give up on something like this. She wanted answers and if she couldn't have them through a secondary source, she'd search for primary evidence.

A scream ripped through the air.

Mai.

"_Onii-tan."_

He turned and found two young children pointing at something to his right.

"Madoka!" Naru said, sharply. "She's here."

The other two hurried over. The two children had long disappeared. Naru pointed at the area in front of him. "She's here."

"I don't see—" Bou-san cut himself off and surveyed the area. "This is weird; it feels…_weird_." There was a ripple as a veil of sort fell from the cottage, exposing it to the three. The monk frowned as he muttered, "I didn't do that."

Naru narrowed his eyes but decided to address that another time.

"STOP IT!" she cried, begging.

Naru attempted to hurry into the cottage. He wouldn't let an employee die, especially his. The door wouldn't budge. In such a situation, what should he do? Hosho pushed past Naru and kicked the door in. He entered the room first and, seeing the situation Mai was in, began chanting a mantra. The female ghost snapped its head to his direction and snarled but disappeared. Mai didn't appear to be injured but was definitely frantic. She didn't even seem to register the other three in the room. She was touching her stomach and she was panicking.

"Mai?"

"Doctor," she muttered, wildly. "I need a doctor." She tried to stand but her legs gave way beneath her.

Bou-san knelt down. "Are you okay, Mai?"

Her eyes flashed up to him, as if just realising he was there. "Bou-san." Her voice broke. "Get me to a doctor. I need a doctor."

"Calm down, Mai," he tried to soothe her. "What's wrong?"

"Get me a doctor, Bou-san," she begged, tears forming as she gripped his shirt tightly with trembling hands. "I'm begging you. I can't lose them."

Madoka shoved past the speechless man and took his spot, smoothing down Mai's hair and murmuring words of comfort. "We'll take you to the hospital, Mai. We'll definitely bring you there."

"Promise?"

She sounded so small, so broken, that Madoka couldn't resist wrapping the girl in her arms.

"I promise," she said.

Mai slumped in her arms and Madoka took that as a sign of danger.

**OoOoO **

"She's dehydrated, famished and exhausted," they young doctor said. "At her current stage, she needs to take care of herself. The stress she's clearly under isn't good for her health also and can affect the twins. She'll be kept—"

"I'm sorry," Madoka interjected, speaking on all three's behalf. "Twins?"

"Yes," he said, blinking in surprise. "Didn't you know? She's around two months pregnant."

The silence was almost suffocating, what with Madoka's wide-eyed stare, Hosho's silent sputtering and Naru's glare. The doctor would've coughed but, if he was being honest, he was a little scared of what they'd do if he did.

Bou-san was the first to speak.

"How is she?"

"She's fine. There's also nothing wrong with the twins."

"I-Is she awake?" Madoka asked.

"Yes, though one visitor at a time only; anymore than one could overwhelm her."

Madoka nodded.

"We'll be keeping her here in the hospital for tonight so as to monitor her condition."

"Thank-you."

When the doctor had left, Hosho dropped onto a chair, head falling into his hands. Of all the things Mai could be suffering from, pregnancy had been the last thing he'd considered. No, pregnancy hadn't even made it onto his list of suspicions. A thought snapped his head back up to look at the other two.

"Who's the father?" he choked out.

"I don't know," Madoka sighed, resigned. "I've never heard of a boyfriend from her."

"So, we can conclude that the pregnancy was the result of an accident," Hosho deduced. "What I want to know is why she didn't tell us."

"Then let's ask her," Naru said, face grim. It was as if he was hiding some sort of knowledge; knowledge he wanted a confirmation of. "I'll go."

Bou-san blinked.

"You're offering?"

Naru simply ignored him.

"You do that," Madoka agreed. "I'm going to visit Koujo."

"Ah, how is he?" Hosho asked.

"He's condition is stable," Madoka said, "but when he gets better, I'm going to throttle him."

"A gesture of your love?"

"Of course," she said, beaming. "And he better willingly accept every bit of the love I'm going to suffocate him with."

Bou-san coughed.

Oftentimes, she was scarier than Ayako.

**OoOoO **

"You're pregnant."

Mai bit her lip.

"Yes."

Mai abhorred the silence that followed. She put down the glass of water the nurse had kindly got for her. Her meal was left abandoned beside it; she hadn't eaten more than a few bites. She had forced herself to prepare for this, she knew they'd find out, but it was still as nerve-wracking as it'd been when she was first told she had successfully conceived. Naru eyed the patient sleeping in the bed beside her and once he confirmed for himself that the man was undeniably unconscious, he began to speak again.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I wasn't ready."

Pause.

"Who's the father?"

"I never planned on revealing it this way," she murmured, and Naru had to move closer to hear her words. "This wasn't how I wanted you to find out."

Naru waited.

"You're the father, Naru."

He felt his stomach drop, if that was possible.

"I…"

He was speechless. He was at a loss at what to do. She was looking at him, guarded, wary…_hopeful_. But he needed to think. He needed to process everything. He needed _time_. And he was well aware that he would betray the already small hope Mai had in him when he turned and walked out the door.


	8. A Doctor & A Narcissist

OoOoO

**Part 08: A Doctor and A Narcissist **

OoOoO

Mai was discharged the next day with the order to sleep more and de-stress herself. Though, it was said in more professional terminology coupled with an unimpressed doctor. Mai only nodded and accepted everything they told her. She appeared to be listening but mentally, she couldn't help but analyse Naru, when he had found out about her pregnancy, down the last detail; his reaction, his body language, his wavering resolve and indecision. The more she thought about it, the more she came up with newer conclusions—the more pain she brought upon herself.

It hurt.

It cut her deep, successfully ripping her heart to shreds. She didn't want to pick up the pieces of her broken heart again. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry. She wanted to run away, disappear, and be free of her emotions. She wanted to hate him; she wanted to inflict upon him her hurt and anger. She wanted to be strong, for herself and the twins; she wanted to endure through it but it was unbelievably hard. She didn't want to see him again and yet she hoped he came back. She hated that part of herself.

She needed to give up on him.

She'd been trying to do it since he'd suggested that it was his brother she loved. But he… Every time she managed to harden her resolution to abandon her feelings for him, he always, without fail, managed to do something that would cause it to crumble down. She loved and hated him; it was tiring. She was tired. Tired of pining after a man who didn't love her; tired of vying for his affections; tired of getting hurt time and again.

Mai stared blankly out the window as the car rolled past and created a blur of green scenery, wondering, not for the first time that day, whether or not Naru would come back. Bou-san and Madoka had told her that he simply needed time. But Mai wasn't too sure about anything anymore. She wasn't too sure, but there might be a part of her that wished he wouldn't appear in front of her; she was a coward—too afraid to face her own fears.

Her chest felt heavy and it hurt her to breathe. It hurt to not cry too. And so, to Bou-san's alarm, Mai allowed herself to cry.

Everything to do with him was unbelievably painful.

**OoOoO **

_She stared down affectionately at the bundle of joy in her arms. And yet, as she stared down at her newborn son's face, she couldn't help but want to cry. The infant was settled comfortably against her and she couldn't find it in herself to remove him no matter how much she willed herself. Akira stood, watching the two forlornly. _

"_Are you sure about this, Nadeshiko?" _

"_Yes, I am." _

"_Nadeshiko—" _

"_You know full well why I cannot, Akira-sama." _

"_You should not fear the future, Nadeshiko." _

_She shook her head. "You do not understand. There is every reason to be afraid. You have not seen what I have; you have not witnessed the horror we have brought upon us as a result of our lust." _

"_It's more than lust." _

"_Perhaps so, but that changes little." _

"_Take a chance; attempt to change fate—" _

_She shook her head wordlessly and handed the newborn to his father. "Take him," she begged. _Before I decide against it_, was the unspoken phrase. Akira took the infant and, as if able to sense what was happening, the child began to cry. Nadeshiko looked out the window apathetically, but the tears that rolled down her cheeks betrayed her. Her hands clenched tighter and her nails dug deeper into her palms. _

"_Go," was her whispered command. "Please go." _

"_We will," Akira promised, "but at least allow yourself to name the boy." _

"…_Takashi." She allowed a soft smile to ascend onto her lips. "I hope he becomes a man who is praiseworthy, remains filial to his parents and is noble and prosperous as his name suggests." _

**OoOoO **

"Taniyama-san," Yui greeted. "How may I help you?"

"Takashi…" she murmured. In a louder voice, she asked, "Would you or your husband know of a Takashi Kagami?"

Yui appeared to ponder deeply before nodding. "Yes, if I recall correctly, he was the only son of Akira-san."

"Only?" Mai asked. "He never married?"

Yui blinked. "I'm surprise you know that. No, he never married."

"But he was a noble, wasn't he?" Mai asked herself, aloud. "Wouldn't there be pressure from his family to marry?"

"Perhaps he thought he would betray me by doing so," she said. Mai snapped her head to look at her. Did she just…? Mai gulped.

"Nadeshiko-san?" she asked, meekly. "Is that…you?"

Yui's eyes locked on hers. "Yes," the woman said after a while. "I am her." She seemed to assess Mai for what seemed like an eternity before she finally spoke once again. "Once you give up, everything is bound to fail; to try hard may seem foolish but to give up is regretful."

"Are you…talking about Naru and me?"

"If you try, you'll be hurt," she said, "but if you don't even attempt to try, it will tear at your soul. You have yet to try."

"But he doesn't love me," Mai said. "He doesn't _see_ me."

"Love is deceiving and it is blind. Love does not choose sides but remains neutral."

Wait. Why was she being consoled—if it can be called that—by one _she_ had to persuade and lead to the light? But Nadeshiko was talking a lot about regrets and never trying. Was she also talking about herself? Did she regret giving up on the future with Akira and her son? Did the fear of love and a predestined future lead to her still being stuck in the mortal realm? But if Mai took Nadeshiko's assistance up till now into account, hadn't the woman been trying to ward them away; to _protect_ them? Was she still here because she needed to protect her descendants from something?

Haruka.

An unrequited love had led her to follow evil's path. _She_ had brought about the despair Nadeshiko had so wished away, and Nadeshiko and Akira had been the stressor to cause the younger sister to snap.

"I loved my sister very much but she had been the one to betray me in the end," Nadeshiko said. "I loved my daughter, Reiko, with all my heart but was never there to guide her and watch as she grew. I loved Akira-sama and my son more than I can explain but in the end, I pushed them away because of a fear that had already begun to occur. Oftentimes, I wonder what would have been if I had agreed to Akira-sama's proposal instead of engaging in such a scandal. I have many regrets but all revolves around the same topic. The burden is heavy, even in death. Sometimes, it is too much."

"But you were only trying to protect everyone," Mai insisted. "Why did you have to pay the price?"

"Because I relied too much on what I saw; I decided things using my head only, and that is as foolish as wearing your heart on your sleeves."

Pause.

"Nadeshiko-san, would you happen to know why Haruka insists on removing her victims' organs?"

She nodded. "A hallucination—a dream; I remember her waking me one night when we were young and telling me. According to her recount, she was standing in the middle of a room that was filled with—"

"I'm sorry," Mai said, quickly. "I don't think I can stomach what you're about to say but rest assured that I know what you were planning on saying."

"Very well. However, apart from that, there is no particularly significant reason as to why she'd choose such a method. Perhaps she wanted to collect it as a prize—a trophy of her achievements. Or maybe she was simply interested in the human anatomy more than she should've been."

Mai bit her lip.

"Maybe I should have them move out for a bit," she pondered.

"No," Nadeshiko said, interrupting her line of thought, "Haruka is able to find them, regardless of whether you move them to another location or not."

"We'll give them warding charms."

"Haruka's spirit is a twisted manifestation of her anger; it won't be put off for long against the charms. She'll find them again before long and she'll be angrier than ever."

"How is she going around and killing—"

Mai felt it when Nadeshiko disappeared from a rather confused Yui but Mai could swear she heard her last words as _"Save my children; free them"_.

"Yui-san," Mai said, "I'll have Matsuzaki-san write up warding charms for you and the family. Please keep it on you at all times."

She nodded. It looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't decide whether she should or not.

"What is it?" Mai gently coaxed.

"I'm not sure if it's only because of the recent deaths around him or the strangers in the house but my son, Takumi, has been acting strange of late."

"Strange?" Mai frowned. "How so?"

"He's become quite rebellious but at night, it's like he changes back to the way he was. Lately, he's been asking whether he could sleep with me and my husband, as if he's scared of something in his room."

"What makes you think he's scared of his room in particular?"

"He avoids it almost entirely and when he had to go, I had to go with him as company. Another thing is strange; Takumi is usually a neat child but his room is always a mess every time I go in. I reprimanded him once; that was the day he panicked and bolted out as if he saw something frightening. Now, he stays outside the room while I get what necessity he needs from there. Also, the room is constantly colder than normal and sometimes I feel like someone's…_watching_."

"Is it only his room?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Mai asked.

"I didn't realise it had anything to do with the case. I always thought it was just a child rebelling."

"Is there anything else?"

"Not that I can think off at the moment."

Mai nodded, pondering the new information. Why hadn't the monitors picked this up? Of course, she'd assumed that Takumi's room was messy by his nature, not the workings of, presumably, Haruka. She needed to talk to Takumi and get his statement.

"Oh, would you happen to know about a Reiko? She was Nadeshiko-san's daughter."

"Nadeshiko…" She tapped her arm as she thought. "She was Takashi-san's mother, wasn't she?"

Mai nodded.

"Well, I'm not too certain about Nadeshiko-san's life. Only that…"

"Only that…?" Mai urged.

"Only that she was well-known for being a psychic. I haven't heard of a Reiko, though."

"I see. That's fine." Mai grimaced; the urge to use the toilet was becoming harder to resist. "Yui-san? Would it be possible for me to talk to your son and get his side of the story? Perhaps it'll bring light upon some mysteries."

"That's alright," Yui said. "When would you like to talk to him?"

If Naru was here she could've asked him. Unlike her, he'd probably already gotten all the family members statements since he was such an empathetic jerk and was much closer to solving the case, if not already.

"Would tonight be fine with you?"

"Yes, it should be alright. He wants to go to a friend's house but he shouldn't need to be there until seven."

"Then I'll have Matsuzaki-san give him a warding charm before he leaves. Could you make sure it's on him or, at least, near him; maybe in his bag or shirt pocket or something?"

She nodded.

Mai chew on her bottom lip.

"Oh, another thing; have you sensed any…_strangeness_ from your daughter?"

"Mika?" she asked, surprised the brunette had brought her daughter up at all. "No…" Yui frowned. "Is there a reason why you're asking?"

Maybe the possession had been a one time thing only?

"It's nothing at all."

**OoOoO **

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bou-san demanded.

"I'd planned to," Mai said, tiredly, "but there never seemed a good time, so…" She sighed. "I was going to tell you guys when we finish with this case." Probably.

He couldn't argue with that and Ayako decided to interject on behalf of Mai. "I believe the doctor said she needed rest, Hosho. Look at her! She's practically dead on her feet."

"Alright," the monk relented.

"Good! Now go do something productive."

"You old hag—OW!"

John smiled at Mai whilst the monk and miko began their usual "lover's spat".

"Congratulations, Mai-san." She returned the smile with her own tired ones. "And don't worry," he said, as if knowing what she was mostly stressing over, "I'm sure Naru will come around."

Right, that.

"Thank-you, John," Mai said, sincerely before trudging over to the couch. She couldn't go to bed just yet; she still had to take her clients' account on any possible oddities they may have or not encountered. Speaking of which…

"Ayako, do you think you can make warding charms for the whole family? Also, Takumi-kun, Yui's son, is going over to a friend's house for a sleepover; I want him to have a charm on him just in case."

"Okay."

"Guys," Mai said, looking around the room, "where's Haru?"

Bou-san answered, "Yasu took him to the hospital—Madoka's request. It seems the boy wants to see his father badly."

"Poor child," Masako murmured.

They could only agree.

**OoOoO **

"She always stares at me," Takumi said, fidgeting uncomfortably, "and she…she doesn't like me."

"What makes you think that?"

"She _glares_ at me and sometimes she gives me this evil smile," he said, and added in a whisper, "_like she's going to hurt me_."

"Is that all she does?"

He shook his head, brown mop of hair flying. "No, sometimes she whispers—_mnngf_!"

"Takumi-kun?"

"Mai," Masako said, and Mai grimaced when the cold temperature hit her skin. "She's here."

"_Remember our promise, Ta-ku-mi?"_ Haruka drawled. _"Are your trying to break it?"_

The boy shook his head quickly as his eyes widened in fear. He tried to claw at the wispy hand wrapped tightly across his mouth and nose, craving oxygen.

"Nau maku sanmanda bazaradan kan!" Hosho chanted as Ayako recited the nine cuts. The ghost in question sneered at them, her eyes landing on each of them, though her eyes lingered a few seconds longer on Mai, before "tsk"-ing sharply.

"_Not a friendly bunch, are you?"_ she said, the hint of a smirk on her lips._ "No matter; I'll leave for now, but I'll take something with me also."_

Takumi drew in a huge breath as Haruka's hand disappeared. The seven-year-old's eyes grew watery but all could see that he was trying to hold them back. Mai stood, deciding that the child had had enough excitement for one day.

"There is one more question, Takumi-kun," Mai said, holding out a hand for him to take and ignored the curious question on the 'promise' the child and spirit had made. "Why was your room so messy?"

He gulped and shook his head, fearful eyes looking into her calm, understanding ones. She patted his hand in hopes that it would at least provide a small sense of comfort. He bit his lip and pulled at her hand, asking she lend him her ears. Hesitantly, he muttered, "She hates me."

"Has she hurt you?"

"Not yet."

_Yet._

Such a foreboding word.

So, not only did they have a somewhat psychotic ghost hell-bent on getting revenge for an unrequited love, she also had temper tantrums and was moments away from attacking a child, his father, his uncle and his great-uncle.

"Could it get any worse?" she murmured under her breath.

The door slammed open and Hiro, Takumi's uncle, rushed through, appearance messy and looking frantic. Mai couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Taniyama-san! It's my uncle! He—!"

"What's wrong with Eisuke-san?" Bou-san interjected, wishing to get to the point. "Did something happen?"

"She – She said to be honoured," Hiro said, clearly traumatised, "b-because she would use her own hands this time. And she did! She reached into his chest and _tore_ out his _heart_!"

Mai swallowed thickly.

_Only three more to go_, a voice taunted her, and she was left unsure whether it was simply her thoughts or Haruka whispering it into her ear. However, what she _did_ know was that she had made a blinding mistake.

She had spoken far too soon.

**OoOoO **

"Hey, boss," Yasu said, waltzing in, "I've got more information for you."

"What's the summary?" she asked, eyeing the rather large file the college student had compiled together with distaste. He tapped the folder almost…_fondly_. Well, it had taken him a while to assemble all the necessary pieces to show her so an attachment was somewhat understandable.

"I've finally gotten a hold of Nadeshiko-san's past _before_ she met Akira-san. And yes, before you ask, I also have information on her daughter; it took almost every use of my brain cells, and every ounce of my ability in flirting, to find all the answers you seek. I hope you don't make me go back to the hospital because those nurses seriously hate me and my intelligence has all burnt out now so I expect a raise for my troubles."

"Yasu," she said, warningly. He brushed her threat aside with a chuckle.

"Her daughter, Reiko Yoshiki, grew under the care of her maternal grandmother, Atsuko Yoshiki." Yasu flipped the page over and skimmed over the lines until he found what he was looking for. "Reiko-san's descendants have all been female and, while they contribute greatly to others less fortunate and commit themselves to volunteer work or provide public service, they have a short life span. Each has died at the age of thirty. On the same hour and even down to the same minute. A curse, indeed."

He couldn't be more right. All of whom, in some way, connected to Nadeshiko couldn't escape the curse. How far did Haruka's hatred go? Did it have no limit?

"Who's her latest descendant?"

"Her last, _deceased_, descendant was a woman who had no sibling and became an orphan at the age of ten. She hadn't married and had no children. She, like all her ancestors before her, lived in the area, and had worked as a doctor at the hospital you seem to go in and out of daily."

She shot him a glare.

"After the death of her parents, she was taken in by a friend of her mother's. Note that her mother died at age thirty, same time and day as her ancestors before her; though, the death was due to a drunk driver hitting their car, unlike the heart attack her own mother had. The mother died instantly and the father lived only a day longer until he died from his wounds also. She, too, on her thirtieth birthday died from pneumonia two years ago; she had a weak body since birth."

"Her name?"

"Setsuko Tamamura."

**OoOoO **

**Not a great chapter, but a necessary one. **


	9. Akira & Takumi

**OoOoO**

**Part 09: Akira and Takumi **

**OoOoO**

Naru sighed.

He couldn't seem to concentrate on the case—something new for him. He wasn't an idiot and he never thought himself as one, but _how_ could he have missed the signs? He rested his head in his hands as those 'signs' repeated themselves in his head.

…

When Naru entered the base one morning, Mai yelled at him because her shirt had a hole in it. It wasn't an overly large hole and he never expected her to get angry over such a thing. Could she have changed in the month or two he wasn't there? No, that wasn't possible. Certainly, she ate a lot more than before and was more tired than usual but, overall, there wasn't a big change. After a few good minutes of ranting and managing to blame him somehow, she eventually stopped.

"Are you done?" He sighed mentally when he realised his sentence could've provoked her into yet another long and blaming rant. She didn't; she only nodded, mouth closed in tight line and left out through the door the next second later. Although he'd never admit it to her, she was the only one who could leave him as confused as he was right then.

He wrote it off as him being in the wrong place at the wrong time; however, when it continued through various mornings, afternoons and nights, it became apparent that he was her source of anger. She'd gotten upset at the others but she always apologized straight afterwards, as if she'd had a sudden change in personality. With him, there was yelling but no apologizing.

He sat in his chair, feeling grim and taking into account the past two days of Mai's sudden outbursts. What was the cause of this?

"Ne, Naru-chan."

He stifled a groan. "Yes?"

"You know, I was thinking…" Madoka tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Bearing in mind Mai's hormonal and somewhat misplaced anger of the last few days, her unexplained surges of emotions seems oddly familiar. Maybe…she's pregnant?"

He stiffened.

"Stop spouting nonsense."

She bit her lip wistfully. "If you think about it—"

"Madoka," he said in a hard voice. "It's not possible."

She shook her head at his stubbornness. He was impossible.

"I gotta go. Haru's probably hungry right now."

Naru flipped over a page of a file.

…

Madoka had even _suggested_ it.

Pregnancy.

Mai was pregnant; and with no other than his children.

He felt, for the second time in his life since Gene's death, utterly confused.

**OoOoO **

Mai's foot tapped endlessly against the floor tiles as she struck a thoughtful pose. Lin was currently out of commission and Naru was…wherever he was. She didn't want to think about him or be sidetracked right now. The thing was, with Lin out injured and Naru disappeared, it meant they were two men down which wasn't what they needed right now, what with another recent death. Now it was all a matter of how to wisely direct her remaining colleagues.

Madoka and Yasu were to stay with Haru and wouldn't be expected to be active or put in the line of danger; it'd do none of them good to have any injured and Madoka could do some more research with Yasu at the library. Masako would pair with Bou-san; Masako could sense the spirit but was less effective in defending herself, and so Bou-san would make up for what she lacked. John would pair up with Ayako; John was calm and composed and could make rational decisions. On top of that, he could make up for Ayako's inability to exorcise unless healthy trees were in the vicinity.

She sat on the couch, a tired frown on her face. Mai glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. Midnight. She knew she should put the matters aside for when morning came and get some rest but she couldn't help but think endlessly, unable to shut her mind off.

The problem in all this was who _she_ would partner up with. She wasn't as stupid as to go alone anymore. Haruka had already threatened her once and Mai didn't doubt the spirit wouldn't do it again without hesitation. She refused to let any go alone but by doing so, she ended up by herself. She wouldn't have for that nor would the team. So, the question was, where could she get extra hands?

Asking Yui's husband, Kazuma, to help her was simply foolish; she was simply sending Haruka a beacon to her presence, telling her to "come kill me and my clients".

She sighed in resolution. It looked like she'd be tagging along with John and Ayako after all. Well, she'd take safety over time efficiency any day.

"Ayako, John; come with me," Mai said, looking at the two who were skimming over some old information on the Kagami's history. She looked over at Madoka, who was in the middle of encouraging Haru to eat his vegetables. Mai briefly sympathized with the boy; she hated broccoli too. "Madoka, could you and Haru head on over to the library and help Yasu find anything related to a _Haruka_ _Yoshiki_ or _Akira Kagami_? I want their past uncovered to the littlest of details."

"Yes, boss~" Madoka grinned, saluting playfully.

Mai walked over to the monitors, located both Bou-san and Masako and pressed on a button.

"Bou-san, Masako," she said, then paused. "Don't let anyone die."

"I understand."

"Don't worry, Jou-chan."

**OoOoO**

"Can you please tell me about an employee who worked here a few years ago?" Mai kindly asked a nurse. "Her name was Setsuko Tamamura."

The nurse eyed her and her companions suspiciously. "Are you working with that good-looking dark-haired boy?"

Good-looking?

Dark-haired?

"Uh—"

"Like I told that boy," the nurse interjected with a sigh. "I can't give out confidential details."

"We're only asking what you know about her—her personality, behaviour; anything odd and what many would consider out of the norm."

She let out another sigh but relented. "Setsuko was a kind woman—very hard-working, and gave more than she received. She was childless and single—she said something about how "the curse had to stop with her". I never understood what she meant and she never elaborated on it. All until her last days, she contributed greatly to helping the unfortunate and engaged in many volunteer works. Everyone loved her."

Mai suspected the nurse had told Naru the same thing.

"I heard she died from pneumonia."

"Yes, she did."

So, Yasu was right. Well, one could never be too sure.

"Is there anything else?" Mai asked.

"Well, there was one other thing…"

"What would that be?" John asked.

"You'd probably think I'm crazy for even going to say this but Setsuko was able to predict, with frightening accuracy, our patients' death." She frowned. "She only told me and a few others, though. I suppose she _needed_ to tell someone. It's a little too much of a burden on her, it seems. She'd break down into tears every time—she could see how they'd die. She even saw her own death."

Setsuko…was a psychic?

"Thank-you for answering us," Mai said. "I'm sorry for having taken up your time."

**OoOoO **

Ayako's cell phone rang on their way back—apparently, Madoka and Yasu had found something on Akira and so the three changed course and headed over to the library.

When Mai stepped into the cool building, Madoka, who seemed to have been waiting out front for them, hurried them over to where Yasu was awkwardly trying to entertain a rather grumpy-looking Haru. Mai stopped herself from snickering; the high and mighty Osamu Yasuhara, who came only second to Naru in having a comeback to every retort, was shown up by a three-year-old.

As soon as he spotted sight of Madoka, his whole form seemed to relax. Madoka took over from Yasu and helped Haru onto the large cushions. Haru remained sullen but soon, after many shifts and turns to find a comfortable position, his eyes closed and his breathing altered into a slow, rhythmic pattern.

Meanwhile, Yasu held out some newspapers to all three. Mai opened hers and came face to face with a familiar man.

Akira.

The title read "_Akira Kagami: Noble In Name Only_". According to the article, Akira had frequented a lot in the red-light district. Finished, she closed the aged newspaper. She was, admittedly, impressed that Nadeshiko could change him so drastically. Love was an odd thing.

"This tells about Akira's wealth and how he's managed to accumulate and further expand his lands and stocks," John summarized.

"So we have a womanizer who has a skill, or penchant, in furthering his fortune," Mai muttered.

"Mai, there's something else," Ayako said, severely. "I think—well, after reading this and taking her hatred towards Akira into account, I can imagine what Haruka has been whispering into Takumi-kun's ear."

"What are you talking about?" Mai asked.

"This." She showed everyone the picture of a young Akira, maybe eight or nine, grinning and holding out a certificate to the camera. The face was highly familiar—Takumi's. He was the exact and splitting image of his ancestor.

No wonder Haruka was keeping Takumi as her main target—messing up his room, scaring the poor kid.

_Saving him for last_.


End file.
